Strength
by ILikeReading
Summary: Bella is a college student with low self-esteem that tries to move on from her past by keeping herself busy with friends and school.  Then she finally notices Edward, a guy that has been infatuated by her for months.  Will he be able to win her heart?
1. Prologue 1

Welcome to my first fic! I'm new to this, so please be easy on me! Enjoy. :)

Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight related. The rest is mine. No copying and/or redistributing without my consent.

* * *

I never asked for his touch. I never asked for his kisses and his hugs...his embrace. He gave them to me willingly...at one point in time. He showed me what it was like to feel admired and adored. To feel cared for and safe.

I never expected him to make me feel that way.

Sure, I've always wanted to feel admired and adored. Who doesn't? I just didn't expect it from _him_. After all, _he _was the one that approached me first. _He _was the one that made all the moves. I had control of myself; I had my heart guarded. But somewhere along the line, he took over me. He owned me. I gave him too much too soon. I laid my heart out for him. I exposed myself to him. I was naked and made myself vulnerable. He had so much power over me, he didn't even know it until everything came crashing down in the end.

What I did at the time wasn't wise, but sometimes love takes over and you can't help yourself. You let your heart take over and put logic on the back burner.

_Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it, don't it! _I thought to myself. Subconsciously, I was scared of how he would react if I told him the words, but I couldn't help it. They slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

"I'm falling for you."

_Shit._

There's no doubt that he could not have believed those four words. The emotion I put behind them clearly proved my message to be true, even if it was just over the phone.

"Awwww," he replied. He actually sounded like he was flattered, and truly touched. He didn't freak out like I thought he would. Maybe things will be alright after all, despite the argument that took place between us a few weeks ago, before my hospitalization. Perhaps we could work everything out...

"I have to get back to work."

Or maybe not.

"But I don't want you to go," I murmured pathetically.

"I know, but I _really _am busy. I _have_ to go. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

_Click_.

_He didn't sound overwhelmed or upset_, I reminded myself after I placed my phone on my bed. _Things will be okay. We'll talk about everything later._

We only met a few months ago, but I knew what I wanted. He meant everything to me. After all that we've done together- our late night talks on the phone, our walks along Lake Washington, and the way he made me laugh, I knew I wanted to spend my life with him. Hell, he even said I could possibly be _the one_.

A few hours later, I received a text from him. I flipped my phone open and found his message, excited for what he had to tell me.

"_I'm starting to get really stressed out right now. I need time and space. Thank you."_

I should have known. Of course he would be stressed out. After all, our situation did lead me to a psychiatric hospital for nearly two weeks. How could I blame him?

That was the last time I heard from him.

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	2. Prologue 2

Thanks to those who added my story to their favorites and story alerts! You guys are awesome.

This prologue is both BPOV and EPOV. I originally planned to write this story completely in BPOV, but I'll see how things play out as the story progresses. I just thought it was necessary to understand Edward's situation.

Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight related. The rest is mine. No copying and/or redistributing without my consent. Thanks.

* * *

Bella

It's been eight months since he's been out of my life. Eight months of no texting. Eight months of no e-mailing. Eight months of no phone calls. And worst of all, eight months without seeing him in person.

Eight. Long. Months.

Sure...I could look at photos that were on some of my friends' facebook pages, since we had a few mutual friends, but it wasn't the same. In fact, there were no pictures for me to look back on the two and a half months we spent together. Couldn't I at least have gotten something like that to remember our good times by?

No, of course not.

That was one of my biggest regrets and things I was saddest about- not having a picture of just the two of us together, enjoying ourselves. Perhaps it was for the best. It would probably hurt too much to look at those kinds of photos. They'd more than likely do nothing but make me wonder what might have been and pull at my heartstrings until I felt like I couldn't breathe. It would just make the pain I already felt worse than it was. It was better this way, I knew that. But still...I couldn't help but wish.

As much as I tried to...as much as I _wanted _to, I couldn't seem to move on from him. You'd think that even though we only saw each other for a short amount of time I would be able to move on, but that wasn't the case. Whenever my girlfriends would drag me into a club or bar, the guys I met held no interest to me. I'd flirt with them, dance with them...hell, I even made out with some of them. But they weren't _him._ They weren't..._Mike_.

Everywhere I went...everywhere I looked, I couldn't help but search for those blue eyes that I loved so much, and his blonde hair. Was this healthy? It sure didn't seem like it to me...

Why did moving on from him have to be so hard?

* * *

Edward

It was a gloomy, rainy Tuesday morning when I was woken up by my cell phone alarm at eight am. How could it already be eight o'clock? I felt like I only fell asleep an hour ago...

I turned over on my side to double check the time on the digital clock that was on my nightstand. Sure enough, the time read eight o'clock. As if clearer vision would turn eight o'clock into a different time...say...six am, I formed fists with both of my hands and rubbed them into my eyes. I looked back at the clock. It still said eight o'clock. _Damn_.

I was tempted to press the "snooze" button on my cell phone so I could get ten more minutes of sleep, but I knew I had to get up if I wanted to make it in time to my English class; it was going to start in a half hour. It should be illegal to hold eight-thirty classes at the University of Washington when the weather was so dreary and the sky was still dark. During this time of the day, the sun was barely making its appearance.

I went back to my room, retrieved my NorthFace raincoat (which practically every student owned- no joke), and walked to campus. When I entered the building to where my class was held at, my cell phone vibrated, indicating that I received a text. It was from my cousin, Alice.

"_Want to join me and one of my girlfriends for lunch later?"_

Hmmmm...I wonder if this "girlfriend" that Alice was referring to was Isabella Swan, the gorgeous brunette I saw her walking with at Red Square. Alice didn't know that I already knew who she was, let alone that her and I had a Sociology class together. This girl that Alice was talking about in her text could very well not have been Isabella, but I didn't want to risk it, and I didn't feel like asking which friend it was.

"_I'm going to be working on a project for one of my classes. Sorry."_

"_Ugh, okay. :( I better see you before the quarter ends though! I haven't seen you in forever."_

"_I know. Next time, k? Just give me a couple of days notice."_

"_Will do. And I'm taking you on that! Next time, no excuses."_

"_You got it." _Just don't invite Isabella, please, please, please_. "Ttyl." _

" :) "

I was too nervous to speak to Isabella. In fact, I doubted she even knew I existed. She never once laid eyes on me...at least not that I was aware of.

Hopefully that will change. If only I can get the balls to speak to her before the quarter ends...

This was ridiculous. This was college, for Christ's sake. Not high school. I shouldn't be acting like this. What's wrong with me?

Gosh, I hope I don't have to meet her through Alice.

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Reviewers get Teasers!


	3. Unnoticed

**A/N**: The first official chapter is finally here! Excited? It hasn't been officially beta'ed, but I was just too impatient to wait; I had share it with you guys. Bad, I know. :/

The prologues that are posted here on ff'n aren't the final drafts. To see them, visit my blog at **http:/melikestoread(dot)blogspot(dot)com/ **I'll also post this chapter on there once it's been properly beta'ed/edited.

I've had a couple people that have taken interest in beta'ing Strength, so the future chapters of the story will be written better. :)

Thanks to those who have reviewed and added my story to their faves and story alerts. That means a lot, and it motivates me to continue writing this story!

On ANOTHER note (sorry, lots of announcements, I know), I apologize for the teaser(s) I sent to my reviewers. They were more like rough cuts. You guys will be getting better quality ones though, promise!

Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight related. The rest is mine. No copying and/or redistributing without my consent.

* * *

_Beeeeeep beeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeeep beeeeeeep beeeeeeep._

"Ughhhh." I reached over to shut off my alarm clock.

_Different day, same shit, _I thought to myself as I slowly dragged out of bed, towards the old, wooden dresser that stood by my bedroom window. Just like any other morning, it was that time of day to take my medication, lamotrigine- the drug that stabilized my mood and enabled me to live a "normal" life.

Yeah right. Me? Normal? I felt far from normal. I wasn't normal. I was manic-depressive. Emotionally and chemically unstable. I was weak. And I hated myself for having to rely on medication.

"_Take 3 tablets by mouth every morning," _the pill bottle read.

"Stupid meds," I muttered.

I opened the bottle of lamotrigine to pour the pills onto my hand. I swallowed them all at once, chasing them down with a glass of water.

"Blehhhh." I stuck out my tongue and shook my head from side to side. Drinking water at eight thirty am was disgusting. The liquid was too thin for my liking this early in the morning, especially when I had just woken up.

I went downstairs to make myself a bowl of cereal. Just as I was about to sit down at the kitchen room table to eat my breakfast in silence, I decided to eat in the living room instead so I could catch up with the latest news on the flat screen television. I've been completely out of touch with the outside world and current events ever since I returned to school a few months ago.

When I finished my cereal a few minutes later, I turned off the television and went back to the kitchen to wash the dishes before taking a shower and getting myself ready for the day. I had a ten o'clock appointment with my therapist, Dr. Eleazar Mills.

"Good morning, Bella. How are you?" Dr. Mills greeted me as he opened the door to his office. Ever since I've been released from the West Seattle Psychiatric Hospital back in March, I've been seeing Eleazar on a weekly basis.

I entered the room and sat down on the comfy blue couch that was across from his matching chair. He picked up a notebook and pen from his desk before taking his seat.

"I'm doing fine. Just trying to make it through school and work," I replied.

"Good. And how's that going? You're not feeling too overwhelmed or stressed out?"

"No, everything's fine. The quarter's almost over so my schedule is going to be different pretty soon."

"Good. I bet you're looking forward to winter break, yes?"

"Sure am. I'm ready." I laughed.

"I don't blame you. You've been working so hard this quarter. I'm proud of you. You've come a long way the last several months." He smiled as he took down some notes.

"Thanks, Eleazar," I smiled back.

Eleazar felt more like a second father to me than a therapist. He insisted that I call him by his first name and made me feel comfortable enough to speak my mind, without holding anything back. It took a few months to get to that point, but ever since I did, I was able to talk to him about anything and everything. I admitted that I drank alcohol every once in awhile, even though he knew I wasn't supposed to, due to my medication. I also felt comfortable enough to tell him about how far I've gone with guys physically. I didn't feel like a patient when I talked to him- he never judged me or insisted I do something I was uncomfortable with- he simply supported me and taught me various ways to handle and improve my moods and well-being.

"Carmen said you're still taking the same dosage of lamotrigine. How has that been working for you?" Carmen was my psychiatrist, and Eleazar's wife. Although their practices differed in terms of treatment, they shared many of the same patients, such as myself. Eleazar treated me with a more interpersonal approach, whereas Carmen monitored and prescribed my medication.

"It's been working fine. I don't feel numb anymore." When I started taking medication, I told Eleazar that I felt like I lost all of my emotions, as if I had no personality. My feelings were basically like a dial tone- nothing changing, same pitch. No high changes in pitch, no low changes in pitch. That might have been somewhat of a good thing, since I didn't feel the hurt that I felt when Mike left me. As much as I hated to admit it, I would have rather felt the pain than feel nothing at all. As long as I was able to go through every day life and survive, I wanted to _feel_. To experience my emotions and express myself. What would be the point of living if you weren't able to do those things?

"Okay, that's good to hear. It looks like we're headed toward the right direction then." He smiled. "So is there anything else that has been going on besides school and work? Do you have any plans for the holidays?"

"Not really. I think Charlie and I are just going to have a home-cooked dinner for Christmas. We haven't really talked about it." I shrugged.

"That sounds nice. Sometimes it's better to celebrate the holidays that way than how it's been commercialized and portrayed in the media. And I bet it will be nice to spend some quality time with your father, since he's always busy protecting the streets of Redmond," he said half jokingly. Charlie, my father, was the chief of police in Redmond, a suburb of Seattle. I didn't get to spend much time with him since his job was extremely demanding.

"Yeah, it will be nice to spend some time with him."

He changed the topic. "Have you been getting enough sleep the past week?"

"I've been getting sleep, but not as much as I'd like since I have so much going on."

"On average, how many hours of sleep would you say you've had per night?" He had his pen ready to jot down more notes.

"Ummm...probably around five." I looked towards the window that was behind his chair. He wasn't going to be happy with my answer. Before he could say anything, I defended myself. "I had a presentation to work on for my Communications class."

He set his notebook down on his lap, scrunched his eyebrows, and looked directly into my eyes. "Bella, you know I usually don't try to push or force you to do something you don't want to, but I'm telling you, you need to get more sleep than that. Your body needs it, especially since you're adjusting to your medication. Sleeping and resting is just as important as doing your daily activities and keeping yourself busy. Are you only getting this much sleep because of time constraints, or because you're not able to fall asleep easily?"

I knew Eleazar was being serious, but I couldn't help but find him amusing. Who knew the topic of sleep could get someone so riled up? I tried to hide my smile by biting the inside of my cheeks as I answered. "Time constraints...occasionally restlessness." I was almost tempted to tease him for acting overprotective, but I knew this was a serious matter and essential for my well-being. If I wanted to be healthy mentally and physically, I did need to get more sleep. It was just that seeing him act this way reminded me of Charlie. Whenever Charlie found out I did something that went against any of my doctors' orders, he acted very similar to how Eleazar was acting right now.

"I'll make more of an effort," I promised Eleazar. I reeled myself back into serious mode, thank goodness.

"Thanks, Bella. I know sleep doesn't seem like it's that big of a deal, but it really is. Your mind would be able to function much better."

"I know. It's just hard to keep up with everything, you know? There aren't enough hours in a day."

"You're telling me," he chuckled. "So, have you been going out lately with your friends?" The serious expression he held on his face intensified slightly. He knew I enjoyed the Seattle night life more than I should, and he wasn't particularly fond of that fact.

"I've just been hanging out with Alice at school or at one of our homes. Other than that, I haven't really done anything else. I'm actually supposed to meet up with her after our appointment." I smiled. Spending time with her was one of the few things that actually made me genuinely happy. We met during junior year of high school, and have been inseparable ever since.

Eleazar's look softened. "Nice. Are you guys going out for brunch or something?"

"Well, today we're going to meet up at my place then eat lunch somewhere near campus before we head to our English quiz section."

"I see. Are you guys getting prepared for finals?"

"We actually don't have a final exam in that class, just a final essay that we have to turn in on the last day of class. We're basically going to have a workshop day today."

"Ohh." Eleazar nodded in understanding.

The rest of our session mostly consisted of small talk and how I could manage my time and stress levels during finals. The only thing that irritated me was that Eleazar continued to stress the fact that I needed to get more sleep, no matter how much work I had going on, repeatedly. By the time our fifty minutes was up, I was more than ready to leave. I told him I'll see him next Tuesday and repeated my promise that I will try to get more sleep.

When I arrived back home ten minutes later, I saw Alice's yellow Porsche parked on my driveway. She was sitting at the driver's seat, singing to herself and drumming her hands on the steering wheel.

As I stepped out of my old, orange Chevy truck, she finally noticed me and opened her car door, running over to me with a huge smile on her face, flashing her perfectly straight, white teeth. Her short, spiky black hair bounced in coordination to the pressure of her feet touching the ground.

"Hey, Bella!" Alice said enthusiastically in her soprano voice.

"Hey, Alice. Were you having fun giving your car a private concert?" I teased.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, so much fun," she said sarcastically. "Actually, I just got to sleep in for once, so I feel great."

"Well, aren't you lucky," I said playfully.

"Yes, I am." She giggled. "How was your appointment with Eleazar?"

I opened the front door of the house and stepped off to the side of the entryway, allowing Alice to enter. "It was good. Coincidentally, he gave me a pretty intense lecture on how important it is for me to get enough sleep."

"That's pretty funny," she said as she rested her cream-colored trench coat on the living room couch.

"Ehhh, not so much. It was at first, but by the end I just got tired of it. From now on, I'll definitely be sure to get eight hours of sleep every night."

"Wow, he really did his job then," she smiled.

"Sure did. So anyway, I'm just gonna use the restroom then I'll be ready to go. We're still having pho on the Ave., right?"The "Ave." was a block away from campus, where a strip of shops, cafes and restaurants were located. Students often went around there to study or do group work while eating and socializing. It was one of the most popular places to be at during the school year.

"Actually, I'm not that hungry. We can still go if you want to though." She had a slightly disappointed look on her face.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine. Are you sure you don't wanna go to the Ave. though? It's no biggie."

"Nah, it's okay. I can eat here. I'll be back in a sec." I left Alice briefly to use the restroom and tie my hair up with an elastic band. Then I rejoined her in the kitchen and searched through the freezer until I came across a box of frozen pizza. I set the pizza onto a bake pan and placed it into the oven to cook.

"So how are things with you and Jasper?" I asked Alice as I shut the oven door with a loud _thud_. Alice met Jasper in her drama class back in late September.

Alice jumped from the sound of the oven door closing before she answered me. "Weeellll," her voice raised a few octaves as a huge grin spread across her face. She was back to her normal, happy self. "So far so good. He's such a gentleman, but I'm about ready to take things up a notch, if you know what I mean." She winked. "We'll see how that goes."

I laughed. "Wow, Shorty taking control! I like it," I teased.

"Yeah, well _one _of us needs to get some action," she said sarcastically. "When's it gonna be your turn?" She arched her right eyebrow, expecting me to answer.

My pulse began to quicken. I hated it when she put me on the spot like that. "I don't know. I don't think I'm ready. It's just that..._he _really screwed me over and I'm scared to go through that again."

"I know, but still. You shouldn't let what you went through with him keep you from moving forward. He wasn't even worth all the crap he put you through. And besides, it's _his_ loss, not yours."

She knew better than to say the name _Mike_ in front of me. Every time I heard it, I felt a stabbing pain in my stomach and chest. I couldn't even bring myself to say it. It always left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"I know, Alice. It's just that he was my first _everything_, you know? He was my first kiss...I had my first date with him. And he was such a good guy...he was a gentleman to me. All of it was so new and fresh to me- I couldn't help it." I picked up a red apple from a fruit basket that was sitting by the kitchen window and began to nibble on it, in attempt to distract myself. That was all I ever did these days- distract myself, so I wouldn't have to think about _him_.

"Yeah, he was sure the gentleman when he couldn't even break it off with you in person." I flinched at her words. That fact was still painful to me.

Alice caught on to my reaction and apologized. "I'm sorry, Bella. But it's true. He was a _pussy_. He may have been a good guy and treated you well for awhile, but he was _not_ your first everything. He didn't deflower you, right?" She couldn't help but giggle.

"Yeah, he didn't," I admitted. "Thank God."

"Yeah. He doesn't deserve that gift," she smiled, half teasing me. I couldn't help but blush; I knew she really meant it.

"I know what you mean though, Bella. That was your first serious relationship, even though you guys weren't technically 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend'. You guys went through a lot together in a short amount of time, and you managed things well then...until you went to the hospital."

Each muscle in my body immediately tensed. I hated thinking about my stay at the hospital. I didn't remember a majority of my time there, but the things I did remember weren't pleasant.

She noticed my reaction and gave me a second to digest what she said before she continued. "But there was only so much you could have done. You were twenty-one years old, never had a boyfriend, never even been _kissed, _and were dealing with a guy that was older and much more experienced than you. So, of course that would make things overwhelming and unbalanced."

"Yeah, I know. I just couldn't help it, you know? I thought he was _the one_ for awhile. He even said he thought so himself, right before all the shit happened."

"I know. But sometimes things just aren't meant to be. If you two are actually meant to be together, who knows? Maybe things will work out for you guys in the future."

"Ugh, yeah right." I rolled my eyes. Alice caught my reaction and laughed. As much as I would have liked for him and I to be reunited, I knew it wouldn't happen. We were done. We went through too much too fast.

My eyes began to get glassy at that thought. I checked the time on my cell phone to prevent my unshed tears from falling. There were still several minutes left until the pizza would be ready.

I turned my attention back to the apple I was neglecting. The parts I bit into were already beginning to turn brown. After I took a few bites, Alice walked over and pulled me into her small, firm arms to give me a hug.

"What's that for, Shorty?"

"Just want to remind you that I love you," Alice replied. She hugged me once more and squeezed me tight. She must have noticed how our conversation affected my mood.

That did it for me. After a few seconds, I released the waterworks. She continued to hold me in her arms and chanted "It's okay, it's okay," until I calmed down and stopped crying.

"Damn it, I have issues," I said as I wiped the tears off of my face and eyes.

"You're fine. No one's perfect," Alice said in a soothing, yet convincing, tone.

"Yeah, but I'm beyond fucked up. I'm tired of it all."

"There are people out there who are worse off than you, Bella. At least you have a support system- people who care for you, like your family and friends. Your doctors are also there for you too, monitoring your stability. You're doing great. It takes time to heal and recover from what you've been through. It hasn't even been a year yet."

"Yeah. I'll be okay. Sorry I got all 'emo' on you." I smiled faintly.

"It's okay, no biggie. I was just teasing about the whole guy thing, too. Sorry about that. Kind of." She winked. I knew deep down she did want me to find someone. She told me before that if I were to meet a new guy, it would help me get over _him._

The frozen pizza was finally cooked and ready to eat. I ate two slices, and Alice gave in and had one for herself.

We finished eating just in time. When I checked the digital clock that was on the oven, it said that it was almost one o'clock. Our quiz section was scheduled to start at one thirty.

"Wow, we need to head out, Alice. Quiz section's gonna start in a half hour!"

"Crap! I hope there's no traffic!"

Alice and I quickly gathered our belongings and hopped into her car. She revved up the engine and sped along the neighborhood to enter the highway 520. Luckily, traffic was fairly light since it wasn't rush hour.

On average, it usually took the typical, traffic law-obeying driver approximately twenty minutes to commute to the University of Washington from Redmond, but with Alice and her manic driving, we made it to school in just under fifteen minutes.

"Damn woman, I didn't know you were _that_ anxious to get to school," I said as I stepped out of her car, combing through my wild, wind-blown hair with my fingers. The rush of adrenaline I felt during the drive lightened my earlier mood drastically.

"Oh yeah, you know it! I'm sooo excited to critique our classmates' papers." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you know you enjoy it. It's been the highlight of your quarter!" I teased.

"Ummm, no. More like you, Missy! You're the one that's using English as a backup major. _Me_, on the other hand, am going to major in Dance, thank you very much."

"Okay, okay. You got me there. Let's get going before we end up being late after all."

We left one of the parking lots that were on campus and walked over to Balmer Hall, where our quiz section was located at. We entered the classroom and claimed our seats near the front of the room, where I liked to sit. Alice usually preferred sitting towards the back, but she knew I focused best while sitting at the front, so she dealt with it.

Alice grabbed her notebook and pen out of her flashy, purple book bag and placed them on the table. "Ugh, I am so ready for winter break," Alice said as she let out a sigh.

"Me too. Only two and a half weeks left! I bet you're already prepared for your extended family's visit, huh?" I asked. Alice mentioned to me a few weeks ago that she was going to have some relatives visit for a couple weeks during the holidays.

"Yeah, pretty much," she confessed. "It just sucks that I'll have to give up my spare room to Edward. I'll get over it though."

"You'll be fine," I reassured her. Alice used one of the extra over sized rooms in the house as a place to practice her dance routines. "Who's Edward?" I've been to her place so often that I was pretty well acquainted with most of her relatives, even the ones that visited from out of town.

"He's my cousin. I've mentioned him to you before- he actually started school here this quarter after transferring from a community college near Forks. You just haven't met him because he's always busy. You'll probably meet him over break though." She looked down at her notebook, trying to hide a mischievous smirk that was beginning to form on her face.

I knew that look. "Don't even think about it Alice."

"Don't even think about what?" she asked innocently, as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

I narrowed my eyes. "Don't try to act like I don't know what you're thinking."

"Don't try to act like I'm thinking about what?"

"Ugh. Never mind." If that's how she was going to act, so be it. I knew damn good and well what she was thinking. She was going to try to play cupid. Well, it wasn't going to work.

I took a sip off of the water bottle I brought from home and placed it into one of the side pockets of my backpack. Once it was secure in its place, I pulled out the latest draft of my paper, as well as my blue-inked pen and notebook. Quiz section was about to begin.

"Good afternoon everyone," our TA, Mr. White said as he greeted the class. "Today is another workshop day. You know the routine. Refer to the overhead to see who your group members are for the day, and assemble yourselves accordingly. As usual, I'll be visiting each group periodically to make sure everything's running smoothly. Are there any questions or concerns?" He looked around the room for a few moments, acknowledging the fact that there were no matters to attend to. "Alright then, you guys may get into your groups now."

The quiz section went by surprisingly fast. I knew that the current draft of my paper needed some major revisions, so my group members' input and notes were extremely helpful. Earlier in the period, I glanced at Alice, and even she looked engrossed in her work with her group members, which was fairly rare for her. She usually worked in a carefree, upbeat manner since she always digested information easily.

At the end of class, we met at the doorway and made our way towards the HUB, where the main food court on campus was located at. It was one of the buildings where students liked to socialize and relax.

"So, you looked like you were working pretty hard today, Shorty," I said to her as we walked out into the cool, crisp air.

"Sure was. Why does this damn paper have to be due in less than a week?" she whined.

"Well, at least it's our last paper; then winter break will be here before you know it. You'll do great."

"I hope so. Hey, you have anything going on tonight besides your class later? Maybe we can work on our papers at your place after I'm done with dance rehearsal."

"I probably shouldn't. If we work on our papers tonight we'll probably end up working 'til pretty late, you know? Wouldn't want to disappoint Eleazar already, right after his lecture and all." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes for effect.

Alice giggled. "Silly girl. Well, how about tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that would be better. We could study at my place and order pizza for dinner. Does that sound okay?"

"That's perfect! It'll be fun," she smiled.

When we reached the HUB, we went to the commuter services lobby to check our school e-mails and look through our English papers once more. After a few minutes, she told me that she had a quick group meeting to attend before heading over to her three thirty dance rehearsal, so we went our separate ways. She headed towards the Hutchingson Hall, while I walked over to the Gallagher Law Library.

The next couple hours were surprisingly productive. I found myself absorbed in my schoolwork and had a good portion of online sources gathered for my research paper. I also ended up having some extra time to review some of the material for my Communications class- I figured it would be a good idea to get a head start on preparing for the upcoming final.

I was so engrossed in my work that I didn't even check the time until it was nearly time for me to leave for my Sociology class. It was still a little early, but if I resumed my schoolwork I probably would lose track of time again. I decided to play it safe, so I packed my things together and walked over to Savery Hall.

None of my classmates were in the classroom when I showed up, so I turned on the lights and sat down at one of the seats near the podium. I needed to keep myself distracted so I wouldn't have enough free time to think about _him_. I prepared for class by retrieving my laptop and flashdrive from my backpack.

After opening up a new word document for taking notes, I browsed the Internet. I checked my school and personal e-mails, as well as news sites such as CNN and Wall Street Journal. I even went on a couple celebrity gossip sites- pop culture had always been a guilty pleasure of mine. After a few minutes, I couldn't find anything else to look at. I could have logged on to facebook to check my account, but I knew for a fact that if I did that right now, I would be tempted to view _his_ page and look at his pictures since he didn't set all of his albums on private. There were times when I could manage avoiding it, but I knew I didn't have that much will-power at the moment.

Before I could allow myself to give in and actually log on, I set my laptop down on the seat next to mine and took out my class textbook and highlighter. I then began to search for key points of the chapter that Professor Varner was going to lecture on tonight, to prepare for writing my weekly journal.

_Come on, Bella. Concentrate. It's taken you months to get this far. You're finally back in school. You're doing well. Your friends and family think so. Your doctors think so. Get back with it. Move on. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in..._

I recovered just in time, right before one of my classmates entered the room. "Hi Bella, how are you?" a blonde girl named Jessica Stanley asked in a superficial, friendly voice.

"I'm good, Jessica. What about you?" I picked up my laptop and placed it back on the table.

"I'm great," she smiled. She flipped her blonde hair over her right shoulder and took the seat that my laptop occupied a moment ago. Just as she was about to say more, her iPhone went off. She received a text from Tyler Crowley, one of our classmates, asking her to join him and a few of his friends at their seats.

"I'm gonna go sit with Tyler, Bella. Wanna join us?" Her eyes did not meet the smile she was wearing.

"No, I'm good here. Have fun."

"You too. Catcha later." Without a second glance, she darted over to Tyler and his friends.

A few minutes later, Professor Varner came in and placed his things on the podium. He knew me pretty well- this was the third course I've taken with him. We had an argument via e-mail about one of the in-class quizzes he gave last quarter, and it was memorable, to say the least. We replied to each other at least three times a day over a three day period. At one point, he had me so upset that I dramatically bolded, italicized, and increased the size of my font when I gave him the correct answer. Ironically, we're now on good terms and he's told me that my reflective journal entries have been "outstanding."

The classroom was nearly full when lecture finally began.

"Hello, everyone," Professor Varner greeted the class. "Tonight we're going to cover the second to last chapter of your textbook." Everyone pulled out their textbook study guides and note-taking items.

When Professor Varner tried to find his textbook, he realized that he left it in his office. "Bella? May I use your textbook for tonight?"

"Sure, Professor Varner." I handed him my textbook as he walked toward my table. He opened it up to the chapter and noticed that there were several sections already marked by my yellow highlighter. "Bella, did you do all this?" He asked loudly, in front of each of the students in the classroom. He held up my textbook, exposing my neon yellow piece of art.

"Yes," I replied embarrassingly. The temperature of my cheeks began to rise.

"Working ahead of time?" he asked, smiling, with a twinkle in his eye. _Was he teasing me?_

"Ummm, I guess so." I didn't need to look at a mirror to know that my cheeks were beet red. I felt the flush and heat spreading throughout my entire body. All of a sudden, the room began to feel extremely hot and my heart was beating rapidly. I could feel my classmates' stares on me as I sank down lower into my seat, wishing it would make me disappear.

When the last half hour of the class period finally approached, Professor Varner returned my textbook and introduced the final project. "Now, as you know, you are all going to be forming groups this evening. I've decided that since this will be your final project, I will allow you to make your own groups of four to five people. I expect you all to make your decisions wisely. Make sure that you all will be cooperative and productive, because you only have two weeks to complete it.

"With that being said, I won't use up anymore class time tonight. You may now commune among yourselves and create your groups, and spend the remainder of the class time as you wish. I'll be here if you need to speak with me."

A few people immediately came to mind. I turned my head back to look a few rows behind me, in attempt to spot Angela Weber. I worked with her in my Geology class from freshman year; she was a good person to work with. When I spotted her, we made eye contact and smiled, walking towards each other.

"Hi, Bella, want to work together?" she said in a soft spoken tone.

I returned her smile. "Hey, Angela, I'd love to work with you! I was just about to ask you the same thing. Is there anyone else we should ask to join our group? I was thinking of Jacob Black and Ben Cheney." Jacob Black was the son of Charlie's best friend, Billy Black. I knew Ben Cheney from high school.

"Yeah, that sounds good. You know, Ben and I are actually going to go on a date this Friday," she said, smiling shyly.

"Awww, Angela. That's awesome! You guys would look so cute together! Hurry up before he joins another group!"

Unsurprisingly, Ben was already making his way toward us before Angela even spotted him. This was running smoother than I thought.

I tried to find Jacob, but had no such luck. Usually, it was extremely easy to spot him in a crowd- he had silky, spiky black hair and a muscular build. It was his muscles that always made him so noticeable- I always teased him about being on steroids.

I was standing on the tip of my toes, lifting my chin while searching for him, when I all of a sudden lost my balance and began to fall forward. Before my entire body landed onto the floor, a pair of firm, white hands with long fingers caught hold of the side of my arms. I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through my veins from their unusual warmth.

"Wow, sorry about that," I said as I stood back up, aggressively biting my lower lip. I looked down at my shirt as I straightened and smoothed it out. "I'm such a klutz." My cheeks began to flush for the second time this evening. Great.

I could feel my rescuer's eyes on me, but avoided his gaze as I unnecessarily continued "fixing" my shirt. All I saw out of the corner of my eye was an unfocused picture of a tall guy with wild, bronze hair, with lean arms that matched the shade of his hands, and a gray tee-shirt.

"Oh no, it's okay. Are you alright? I was just going to ask if you guys still need a group member..."

Before I could begin to comprehend what he was saying, I turned my head from left to right and resumed my search for Jacob. I was already embarrassed enough from earlier and didn't want anymore attention.

I turned back to the bronze haired boy once his words finally sank in. Before I got the chance to say anything, he was already turning around.

"It's okay. I'll go find another group." He began to walk away.

* * *

What do you think? Remember, this is my first fic, so please be honest, but easy on me! :|

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	4. Noticed

**A/N**: This took longer for me to write than expected, so I apologize to those of you who have been waiting awhile. And fyi, I was going to make the chapter longer, but I thought that the ending was the best way to conclude it.

Thanks to those who have reviewed Strength so far, and to those who have added my story to their alerts and/or favorites. You all are awesome!

**Disclaimer**: Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight-related. The rest is mine. No copying and/or reproduction is authorized without my expressed, written consent.

* * *

_Previously from chapter one..._

_I could feel my rescuer's eyes on me, but avoided his gaze as I unnecessarily continued "fixing" my shirt. All I saw out of the corner of my eye was an unfocused picture of a tall guy with wild, bronze hair, with lean arms that matched the shade of his hands, and a gray tee-shirt._

_"Oh no, it's okay. Are you alright? I was just going to ask if you guys still need a group member..."_

_Before I could begin to comprehend what he was saying, I turned my head from left to right and resumed my search for Jacob. I was already embarrassed enough from earlier and didn't want anymore attention._

_I turned back to the bronze haired boy once his words finally sank in. Before I got the chance to say anything, he was already turning around._

_"It's okay. I'll go find another group." He began to walk away._

**.~.~.~.~.~**

"Hey! If you want you ca-"

I stopped mid-sentence as Professor Varner spoke in a loud, booming voice, surprising me. On impulse, I automatically lifted my shoulders and stiffened my muscles. "Class, I forgot to mention that I placed the grading rubrics for the project at the front of the classroom- it's on the table beside the podium. And remember what I said last week about linking your topic with the demographic transition period* of family structures." He scanned the room, making sure his announcement was heard, and then turned his attention towards a student that had a question for him. I rolled my eyes, annoyed with my reaction.

Just when I was about to call out to the bronze haired boy once again, I stopped myself. He was already speaking to Jessica, Tyler and a guy named Eric Yorkie, and it looked like he was going to join their group. I exhaled loudly, annoyed with the whole situation, and then began walking back towards Ben and Angela.

"Bella!" A familiar, husky voice called out.

I turned around and saw Jacob standing a few feet away from me, smiling. "Hey, Jake! I was looking for you." My spirits lifted immediately, making the frustration I felt just seconds before disappear.

"Yeah, I saw that when you fell onto Cullen over there." _Hm, so that's his name? _ Jacob nodded his head towards the bronze haired boy's direction. The friendly, happy expression he held suddenly morphed into one of bitterness, as if he resented him, or wasn't happy with the fact that he had helped me earlier. I figured it was the former- Jacob usually wasn't the jealous type, and he didn't have romantic feelings towards me, at least not that I was aware of. It wasn't like that with us.

"You're so sure of yourself," I teased, letting his reaction towards Cullen slide. It was none of my business if he didn't think highly of him. "How did you know I was looking for you and not someone else?"

"'Cause I didn't think you'd want to be working with Jessica Stanley, and I already saw you with Angela. So who else could it be?" He shrugged his shoulders, teasing me back.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. You got me," I admitted, not really caring that he knew the truth. I knew him long enough to the point that I didn't care if he saw right through me.

"Thought so," he said in a smug, playful way. "Hey, will it be alright if Seth joins us?" Jacob tilted his head and looked over to Seth Clearwater, one his best friends, who was standing a few feet behind him. They've known each other for years, since they both grew up in the Quileute Reservation, along the state's coast.

I looked at the two of them closely and smirked, shaking my head. I should have figured those two would have wanted to work together. "I don't see why not," I shrugged. "Let's just talk to Angela and Ben first."

We brushed through the crowd of students and walked over to Angela and Ben to make sure it was alright to have them join us. They didn't have a problem with it; in fact, they were glad that our group would consist of five members. They didn't know each other well, but at least they looked like they would get along well enough to work together productively.

Ben went to the front of the classroom to grab a grading rubric for everyone in the group. When he came back, he gave each of us our copy and browsed through his for a few moments before speaking to us. "Okay, so remember last week Professor Varner talked about child rearing techniques? Maybe we can refer to the concerted cultivation concept** and apply it towards how it's affected the number of births today."

"That might work, but how are we going to be able to gather data that specifically focuses on parents who have used concerted cultivation? That will require a lot of 'digging'. And it'll be hard to find credible info." Angela asked skeptically while studying her copy of the rubric.

"Yeah, she's got a point there, Ben...but that was an interesting idea," I said, including myself in the conversation. "How about we simply compare and contrast family sizes and the ages of parents from the beginning of the demographic transition period until now? Like the number of children a couple had when they were in their early twenties during the late seventeen hundreds to early eighteen hundreds, in comparison to the number of children a couple in their early twenties has today?"

"That's a pretty good idea, Bella. We'd just have to make a lot of graphs or charts," Jacob said.

"Yeah, it is," Angela agreed. "However, the hardest part will probably be fitting all of our data together to come up with a simplified theme or thesis. We'll probably have a lot of important information, and it'll be hard to narrow things down."

"If we decide on this topic, I can begin looking through population records for the eighteen hundreds if you want," Seth offered. "Someone in my family is more than likely able to access those records easily since my ancestors were already in the US at the time."

"If you do that," Jacob said to Seth, "then I can look in to the nineteen hundreds."

"Thanks, guys. You're great," I smiled. "What do you think about all this, Ben?"

"Sounds good to me. I can begin gathering data from around the end of Jacob's timeframe until now, and then look for more sources," he said. "Would you and Angela be okay with grouping everything together and begin making the charts once we've gathered enough info? Then we can all meet up and complete the rest."

"That won't be a problem," Angela replied.

"Yeah, that'll be fine," I agreed.

After a few more minutes of discussing the logistics of our project, we all exchanged e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers. We were finally set to do our individual work and planned our next meeting for next Tuesday, which was a week from tonight. Angela and I were going to meet up sometime before Monday, depending on when we'd receive Jacob's, Ben's, and Seth's work, via e-mail.

As I headed out of the classroom behind Angela and Ben, I grabbed my old, outdated Sony cell phone out from one of my jean pockets and texted Alice. I was more than ready to head back home- I was exhausted and starving. All evening, I've been trying to save my appetite so I could eat dinner at home in the living room while Charlie watched TV. We haven't seen much of each other the past few days.

_Hey Shorty, ready to head back?_

I stood outside of the classroom beside the door, leaning against the wall with my left shoulder, waiting for her reply. I didn't want to go anywhere until I knew what was going on- it was already dark and more than likely cold as hell outside, so there was no use in stepping out there unless I had to.

Less than a minute later, a high-pitched _beep _sounded off my cell phone, indicating that she replied.

_I'll be done in 10. I'll walk over to your bldg when I'm done._

_K._

I sat down at one of the wooden benches in the hallway as the rest of the class gradually filed out of the classroom, thankful that I got to stay indoors for the time being and enjoy the comfortable heat of the building. I didn't want to look like a zombie while I sat down doing nothing, so I browsed through my text message inbox; I had a tendency to leave my messages there after I received them. When I saw that I had over five hundred in storage, it didn't surprise me at all. Now seemed like the perfect time to go through them.

As I scrolled through the endless list of texts, I had a hard time selecting ones to delete- many of them were either highly amusing or brought back good memories. I was sentimental like that, I couldn't help it. I laughed to myself, absorbed at reading through them, until a smooth velvet voice snapped me back to reality.

"Hello." Just like earlier, when Professor Varner made his announcement about the project grading rubric, I automatically flinched. With shock spread across face, I looked up and saw Cullen's gray shirt a few feet in front of me. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you. I was just going to ask if you were feeling better from earlier; you were pretty red when I helped you up..."

With apprehension and embarrassment, I lifted my head up higher and got a clear view of his face for the first time. He had defined cheekbones, a perfectly set jaw line, and disheveled hair that practically looked like he came straight out of bed. His eyes were a beautiful, piercing shade of emerald green that contrasted perfectly with his light colored skin. The intensity that radiated from behind them as he looked at me caught me off guard and intimidated me to the point where I had to break away from his stare. I was bound to make a fool out of myself in front of him for the second time tonight if I continued seeing him stare at me like that. I played it as safe as I could and looked down at my shoes, attempting to keep my train of thought. "No, I'm fine," I responded to the former half of his statement. My eyes began to wander, looking everywhere but at him as I started to answer the latter. "It's...not uncommon for me to lose my balance and fall for no reason at all. Nothing new," I mumbled softly. Gosh, he must think I'm an idiot. So much for sounding coherent. Was I even making any sense?

He chuckled, and then from out of the corner of my eye I saw him smile a small, crooked grin. It gave him character, just like his wild, untamed hair. _Was he laughing _at_ me, or at what I was saying?_ I wondered. I wasn't sure, and I didn't want to know. I was already embarrassed enough. "I'm Edward, by the way." He smiled again. _Oh, so Cullen must be his _last_ name. _

The smoothness and friendliness that was reflected off of the timbre of his voice helped me relax slightly, and gave me just the right amount of courage to look up at him again. Except this time, I avoided looking directly into his eyes, because they would more than likely cause me to give him a repeat performance. "Hi," I smiled. "I'm Bella."

His smile grew and the muscles of his body loosened some, making him look more relaxed. "So, did you find who you were looking for?" Edward asked, raising his left eyebrow.

"Actually, it was the person who found me," I admitted as a brief, soft giggle escaped from my lips. Then I paused for a moment, remembering my rude behavior towards him in the classroom. "And by the way...I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. I just felt like a huge klutz and was too embarrassed to even think straight," I confessed. I didn't want him to think I was a stuck up bitch or didn't want him to work with me and my group.

"It's alright, I know how that goes," he shrugged. "No big deal."

I smiled and was about to tell him I was trying to call for him after he walked away, but all of a sudden I felt a gravitational pull towards his eyes. They were just too beautiful to ignore. And this time instead of feeling intimidated, I was mesmerized. They were stunning. Then automatically, without thinking, I spoke up. "Do you wear contacts?"

Immediately, his expression changed. My question must have thrown him off guard; he scrunched his eyebrows and started blinking his eyes rapidly, as if something got caught in them. "Ummmm...no. This is my natural color," he finally replied.

His answer and facial reaction finally pulled me out of my reverie. "Oh. I'm sorry. That was totally random...," I said, letting my voice drift away as I felt the temperature of my cheeks rise.

Both of us tore our eyes away from each other as some sort of tension started to build between us. Now there was nothing but silence. Could this have gotten any more awkward? Here I was...staring and ogling over Edward's eyes just moments after we introduced ourselves to one another. That was so out of character for me. Usually, I'd be acting the opposite way, just like how I was at the beginning of our conversation. Quiet. Reserved. Nervous.

As the long, painful, excruciating seconds continued, the sound of light footsteps headed towards our direction from an adjoining hall.

As a delayed reaction, Edward's entire frame animatedly stiffened, as his face held the expression similar to a deer caught in headlights. I had to admit, seeing that reaction come from him was satisfying. It was comforting to know that we had that in common. It made me feel a little better about myself.

"Were you waiting for someone?" he asked with questioning, anxious eyes.

"Ummm, yeah...I'm waiting for a girlfriend of mine to show up; we're leaving campus together," I responded, confused with his expression.

With perfect timing to my response, Alice called for me. "Bella?" Alice said loudly as she was getting closer to us, the sound of her footsteps getting louder with each step she took. I sighed in relief. _Thank God _she was finally here.

Then, as if it were possible, Edward looked even more distressed after Alice's soprano voice filtered through the walls. He finally pulled himself together, and then out of nowhere started sprinting away from me, towards the glass outside door that was no more than twenty feet away from us. "_Ughhh_...I have to go," Edward said in a soft, panicky voice that I was barely able to hear, as he opened the door. "See you, Bella."

"Bye," I said as I half smiled and waved, confused about his sudden change of demeanor. That was odd. Where did that come from?

Once Edward was out of sight, I stood up, grabbed my backpack, and walked towards the sound of Alice's voice. I didn't notice until now that Edward and I were the only ones left in front of the classroom. I must have been looking through my texts longer than I thought. "I'm here!" I called as I walked towards the hallway she was walking on. We finally caught sight of each other a few seconds later and smiled, both of us relieved to see each other.

"Were you talking to someone?" Alice asked as we walked towards the same door Edward stepped out of moments ago. "I could have sworn I heard your voice before I called your name."

Alice opened the door, holding it out for me. "Oh yeah, I was talking to a classmate of mine," I answered as I stepped through the doorway.

The wintry air made me shiver, causing me to wrap my coat tightly around my body. It almost reminded me of the feeling a person gets when they jump themselves into the water of a cold lake.

"Then where did they go?" Alice asked, placing her earmuffs above her ears.

"They were in a hurry," I vaguely replied. I decided to leave out the fact that I was talking to a guy. If Alice knew, I was sure she would make something out of it.

Before Alice got the chance to ask any more questions, which I was fairly sure she was going to, I quickly changed the topic. "So have you talked to Rose? I haven't heard from her since Saturday." Rosalie Hale, who was also referred to as Rose by her family and close friends, was Jasper's sister. Alice and I immediately hit it off with her after we met during one of Alice's plays earlier in the quarter. She had beautiful, long blonde hair and a body to die for. She was smart and had a strong head on her shoulders, but that was often misinterpreted by her peers as her being stuck up and shallow.

"No, I haven't actually," Alice said. "I texted her earlier tonight though. She's probably hanging out with Emmett." Alice rolled her eyes sarcastically, smiling. Rosalie met Emmett McCarty, one of the players of UW's football team, during Spring quarter of last year and have been practically inseparable since then, according to Jasper.

A smirk and chuckle escaped from my lips, forming a mini fog cloud. "Yeah, that wouldn't be a surprise. They're cute together though, minus the fact that they can't seem to keep their hands off each other."

"Yeah, tell me about it. They have no shame. As if I need to see a preview of how they are in bed!" Alice stuck her tongue out and jokingly gagged, shaking her head.

"Okay, thanks for the reminder, Alice," I said as I closed my eyes, trying to shake the mental picture out of my head. Alice looked over to me, giggled, and then looked straight ahead with a look of amusement in her eyes. She set her lips in a straight line, and then we were quiet for the remainder of our walk to her car.

**~.~.~.~.**

"Alright...I'll see you tomorrow!" I waved goodbye to Alice as I shut the door to her Porsche. She finally dropped me off at my house at around eight-thirty, and I was now starving to the point where I almost felt nauseous. Just about anything sounded good to eat.

"Hey, Char...err...dad. What did you have for dinner?" I asked after I walked through the front door and dropped my backpack against the wall, near the kitchen. When I looked over to him, I noticed he was still wearing his blue Redmond Police uniform with his front shirt partly unbuttoned. His eyes looked droopy and he was lying back against his green, comfy recliner chair lazily, his posture indicating that he was exhausted.

"Evening, Bells. I just bought some Chinese takeout. That okay?"

"Yeah, that's cool. Thanks. Long day at work?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "You have no idea."

I giggled then walked over to our modest sized dining room table, filling my entire plate with Mongolian beef, chicken and chowmein. My hands got sticky from scooping the chicken, so I walked over to the sink and washed them with warm water. After that, I walked back over to the living room and ate my food in silence on the couch while Charlie watched a sports game. This was how we usually spent our evenings- in peace and quiet. Charlie and I weren't much of talkers, so the silence between us was comfortable. We never really made an attempt to fill the void. On the other hand, my mother, Renee, back in Phoenix, was a completely different story. She was the opposite of Charlie and me; she was almost as bad as Alice when it came to liveliness. My mother had the energy of a middle school cheerleader. Luckily her husband, Phil, was able to manage and take care of her. He was a minor league baseball player, so he had the energy to keep up with her never-ending vigor.

A half hour later, I felt my body begin to wind down and decided I would try to sleep early so I could feel more rested and energized for tomorrow. "I'm going to head upstairs, dad. I'm going to try to sleep in a bit."

"Alright. Do you need me to lower the volume on the television? You look real tired and I don't want the TV to disturb you," Charlie said as he furrowed his eyebrows, the expression in his brown eyes showing concern.

"Don't worry about it, dad. I'll be alright," I smiled. I almost had to fight back a lump that was beginning to form in my throat when I saw the look he held across his face. It was a simple gesture, but it was moments like these and his expression that showed me how much he truly cared for me. Those actions spoke louder than any message words could say. I was so blessed to have a father like Charlie.

"Alright then," Charlie said. "Night, Bells."

"Night, dad."

I did my usual nightly process of cleansing my face, flossing, and brushing my teeth before I entered my bedroom to change into my comfy, cotton pajamas. As I laid on my bed trying to lose myself into unconsciousness, my mind wouldn't shut off. Although my body was tired and was practically begging for sleep, I started to think of random things- from how Renee was doing back in Phoenix and that I should e-mail her, to remind myself to shop for a few sweaters, to how I needed to get my hair trimmed, to what I was going to wear for tomorrow. Then my thoughts began to drift towards _him_. Not good. Now was not the time to dwell on the hurt and the pain, especially at night, right before sleeping.

I hated that _he_ still crossed my mind more than I wanted him to. I still thought about him numerous times every day, and wondered what he was up to. Was he seeing someone new? Did he miss me? Could we at the very least be friends? Did he even care about how I've been these last eight months? I tried not to think those things...I tried to be angry with him...I tried to hate him for not giving me complete closure by not talking to me in person...but I couldn't find it in myself to feel those things. I actually _emphasized _with him. I didn't blame him for not wanting to see me; I would have been overwhelmed as well. And, like I told Alice earlier in the day, he treated me so well when we were first seeing each other...

_I woke up at noon, still tired from the late night conversation Mike and I had until five am. I looked at my cell phone and saw that he texted me just over forty minutes ago._

"_Wake up. I want to take you to Snoqualmie Falls. Wear tennis shoes and bring an umbrella."_

_When we got to the park where the falls were located at and hiked down a trail that brought us near the bottom of the falls, we crossed a wooden bridge and ran into a sign that said we shouldn't climb over it to get closer to the water. Mike said to ignore it and climb over the bridge anyway._

"_Are you serious? That sign that says we shouldn't," I said incredulously. _

"_Well, do you see those people over there? Did they listen?" He pointed out at least ten people that climbed over the bridge._

"_No, I guess not."_

"_Then let's go." He held my hand while helping me climb over the bridge and over some large stones, until we were no more than a few yards away from the water._

"_Wow. This is amazing," I said, completely in awe of the scene in front of me._

"_It is, huh? You should have brought your camera." He pulled me into his arms and rested his chin on top of my head. I sighed in content and hugged him, savoring the moment._

My eyes became glassy, with tears on the verge of forming. One tear fell. Then two. Before I knew it, I was crying as silently as I could into my cream colored pillowcase, breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating. I didn't want Charlie to check on me and see me like this. He thought I was doing so well. I was back in school after having to drop out for a couple quarters. I found a job to keep myself busy. I've been seeing Eleazar and I followed up with Carmen every month. Friends like Alice were keeping me company. I _was_ doing well.

_Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out._

After ten minutes, I collected myself together. I was getting better at this, at dealing with the pain. Last time it took me longer to calm down. It was becoming easier.

_Damn it, this has got to stop._

I was tired of going through this. Alice was right about what she's said numerous times...more times than I can count- _he _didn't deserve me. There had to be some way for me to remind myself of that and firmly believe it. Deep down hidden somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew it was true. It's just been a matter of me learning how to strongly believe it and having more confidence in myself. That's how it's been for the past eight months- a matter of me believing in myself. Only I could do that and allow myself to move on.

I wanted to move on.

I could do this. It may take time, but there was no doubt I was capable of it. I owed it to myself and to everyone around me. The mental hospital wasn't where I belonged- it didn't define who I was. My disability didn't define who I was. _I _defined _me_. Whoever or whatever I wanted to be, I would be.

Now...if only I could maintain that train of thought, and not let myself falter...

This whole confidence and weakness fiasco had been such a rollercoaster ride for me for months, in fact, probably my entire life. One moment, I'm content and comfortable, the next I'm uptight and insecure.

A pounding sensation began to resonate at my temples. Why did I have to think about such serious topics right before bed? Damnit.

I closed my eyes, trying to ease my thoughts, absorbing the sound of the rain that was lightly tapping on my bedroom window. Eventually, the pounding went away and I was able to relax. My mind began to wander once again, but this time I tried to think of things that were less serious and not as intense.

When my mind's thoughts drifted towards Alice and the conversation we had earlier this evening, I ended up thinking about Edward. Then all of a sudden I couldn't help but wonder, why did he leave so abruptly after he heard her voice? His behavior didn't make sense. I made a mental note, telling myself that I would have to ask him about it when I see him next.

Then unconsciousness finally took over.

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What do you guys think? I hope the wait was worth it!

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***Information on the demographic transition period: **_The Demographic Transition: Three Centuries of Fundamental Change_ (Article from Journal of Economic Perspectives-V17, N4) by **Ronald Lee**. 2003.

****Information about Concerted Cultivation: **_Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (2003)_ by **Annette Lareau**


	5. Realization

**AN:**

Hey all,

I apologize for making you wait MONTHS for an update. RL has been keeping me on my toes, and will continue to do so until June.

I promise you all that I am _not _giving up on this story. Please be patient with me. I'll try my best to make the wait(s) worth it. :)

I'd also like to thank my beta, bellasalterego. :)

And with that, here's the new chapter. Hope you all enjoy it!

Stephenie Meyer owns everything _Twilight_ related. The rest is mine. No reproduction/redistribution without my consent.

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It's been a couple days since I've seen or talked to Edward. I still didn't know what to make out of his behavior, and I couldn't help but be curious about it. The only explanation I could come up with was that he didn't want to be seen with me...which didn't make sense. I promised myself that I was going to ask him about it when I saw him next, which was going to be in class tonight.

While waiting for Professor Varner to arrive, my group members and I talked briefly about our project. Jacob, Seth, and Ben told Angela and I that we would have their work by Saturday. Angela and I then decided to meet up on Sunday afternoon, at Allen library, which was one of the more mellow, peaceful libraries to study at on campus.

After our discussion, I went to sit in my usual seat in the front of the classroom. I pulled out my laptop and textbook from my backpack and waited for lecture to begin. After my embarrassment on Tuesday, I decided to save my highlighting until later, just in case Professor Varner decided to borrow it again.

I kept watching for Edward to arrive. I started to wonder if he was even coming to class at all. Then moments before class Edward entered the classroom. The first thought that ran through my mind once I saw him was that he looked even more beautiful than from what I remembered.

Goodness, how was that possible? He wasn't even wearing anything fancy, it was just a plain, dark blue long-sleeved shirt and jeans. When he looked towards my direction and made eye contact with me, I smiled, only to receive a passive glance and then he headed to his seat. Taken by surprise by his expression, I turned around in my seat and faced the podium, feeling embarrassed. I thought he would have at least given me a smile in return or something, but apparently, I was mistaken.

Lecture dragged on so slowly. I didn't catch a single word the professor said. The entire time I was doodling on my notebook, over-analyzing over Edward's lack of response before class, and thinking about how I was going to talk to him, now that he made me feel like a complete idiot.

When our ten minute break started, I looked over to where he was sitting. He was sitting only about 10 rows behind me, near the door. Feeling nervous, I stood up, placed my laptop on my seat, making sure it was settled securely, and then walked over to him. I began chanting to myself mentally.

Please don't trip, please don't trip, please don't trip.

He didn't notice that I was making my way towards him because he was occupied writing in his notebook. His face looked so serious with his eyebrows furrowed and that expression on his face showing that he was concentrating intently on whatever it was he was writing. His left arm was rested on his table as his right hand was scribbling away frantically. He had his back slouched forward, making his face no more than six inches away from his paper. It was as though he was writing that way so because he was afraid that he was going to forget whatever it was that the was writing about.

I was considering walking back to my seat because he looked so occupied, but before I allowed that thought to fully register, I spoke up.

"Hi," I said to Edward in a soft voice, hoping he heard me.

Edward looked up at me for a fraction of a second, replied with a detached, almost irritated-sounding "Hi," then resumed his writing.

I furrowed my eyebrows, unsure of what to do. A couple of classmates nearby were watching us, which did nothing but add on to my anxiety. "What are you writing?" I stammered.

"I have a paper that I need to finish writing for another class." he responded, not even bothering to look up from the paper.

"Alright then..." I said awkwardly, feeling humiliated. I turned around and walked back towards my seat. The people that noticed our exchange looked at me with curious eyes. Great. Just what I needed. An audience.

My face was flushed by the time I sat down. When I lifted my laptop and was about to place it on my lap, I felt a stare coming from behind me. I looked where I felt the stare to see Jessica Stanley staring at me. I saw in her eyes that she was amused with the situation that she just witnessed and had a smug smile on her face to top it off. Once she realized I caught her expression, she looked away and started talking to Tyler, acting as if the encounter between us never happened. I was almost positive I became their sudden topic of conversation.

The rest of the class period went by in a blur. Even though the worst was done and over with, my heart was pounding from adrenaline and embarrassment. I wanted nothing more than to go home and lock myself up in the confines of my own room.

I didn't even bother to get up to try and talk to him again. However, I couldn't stop myself from turning my eyes towards where he sat. He had already left, which didn't surprise me. Maybe that is why I never noticed him all quarter. Perhaps he had some anti-social or isolation issues.

I was in a lousy mood for the rest of the evening. I barely talked to Alice the whole ride home. Giving only one word answers if I could help it. Once I got home I only said "Hi" to Charlie once I entered the front door and then "Good Night" as I headed up to bed. I didn't even bother to ask how his day had went. Charlie didn't ask me if anything was wrong, even though I could sense his curiosity. I acted oblivious about it and went upstairs earlier than usual to call it a night. I didn't have the energy to come up with some lame, impromptu excuse.

Why was I letting Edward Cullen get under my skin? I didn't even know the guy. Was it because of how he was on Tuesday? Was it because I didn't understand him? I couldn't place my finger on it. There had to be something about him I overlooked, because I couldn't come up with a logical explanation for his behavior.

I took my laptop out of my backpack and browsed online for a few minutes, trying to get rid of my frustration. First, I checked my school e-mail to make sure I didn't miss any announcements from my instructors, and then I checked my personal e-mail. I saw that Renee had sent me a message earlier in the afternoon. It was somewhat lengthy, but I read through the entire thing. It was nice to get my mind off my own personal issues. She updated me about how she and Phil were doing, and that she was going to miss me over winter break and the holidays. She and Charlie alternated years for having me during Christmas and New Years, and this year, it was Charlie's turn to have me.

I decided to reply to her right then, while everything was still fresh in my mind, despite my exhaustion. I gave her the general rundown of how busy I've been with my studies and working at the IMA, the university's gym. I also filled her in with how my sessions with Eleazar had been going.

After I sent my reply to Renee, I logged on to Facebook. No one sent me any messages, but I received a comment from Rosalie. She wanted to go to a bar for a girls' night tomorrow evening- just her, Alice and I. I commented back immediately and said that I was definitely down for that. I definitely needed a drink after what I've been through the last few days.

I checked the rest of my friends' updates after replying to Rose's comment. Nothing caught my eye as I saw their recent updates and uploaded photos. I was about to call it a night and log off after a few minutes of random browsing, but then an idea coursed through me. Why didn't I think of it sooner?

I was going to search for Edward Cullen on Facebook.

Under the Facebook search engine, I typed in Edward Cullen. I initially thought his name wasn't that common or popular, so I didn't bother to narrow the search down. But apparently, I was mistaken; his name was popular. There was an endless list of results for his name- most of which that showed a picture of some vampire guy. Oddly enough, he sort of resembled my Edward.

Whoa. My Edward? Seriously? Where did that come from?

There was no way I was going to find Edward with that method of searching, so I narrowed the search down by searching for his name under The University of Washington network. Still no luck. Perhaps he didn't have a Facebook...

But then I thought of something that Alice had the other day. She has a cousin named Edward that just transferred to the University of Washington. Maybe they were the same person and he hadn't changed his school yet. The chances were slim, but I needed to take a chance on that fact that Edward Cullen might possibly be Alice's cousin.

I went on Alice's page and looked under her list of friends. When I finally reached the E's, there he was. Edward Cullen.

My eyes widened in shock as the emotions I felt earlier in the evening came flooding back into my body. I went through Alice's friends list a few more times, making sure there were no other Edwards listed on her friends list.

There wasn't any other Edwards any where on her list.

I clicked on Edward's name to view his profile, but everything was set in private. I couldn't see his Info, Wall, Activities, Photo Albums or anything. I had nothing to go off of, other than the photo he had for his default picture, which was of him at Gasworks Park, with the view of downtown Seattle in the background.

Now that I was practically sure that Edward was Alice's cousin, what was I going to do now? Act as if I didn't know anything at all? I wasn't sure I could do that. It would feel weird to ignore one of Alice's family members. I've always been on good terms with the ones I've met. Even an occasional smile from Edward would suffice. But to not acknowledge him at all while having a class with him...? That would be odd. I've never acted that way towards anyone in Alice's family.

Edward had to know Alice and I knew each other. She had numerous pictures of us posted on her Facebook. Plus, he heard her voice when she called for me a couple nights ago. So why the odd behavior?

Just great. Just what I needed. More curiosity.

.~.~.~.~.~

After English the following day, Alice and I went out for lunch and cappuccinos on the Ave. Once we made our purchases and found a table to sit at beside a window, we made small talk until I couldn't hold in the curiosity about Edward anymore- I had to talk to her about him.

"So...I have a Sociology group project that's going to occupy a good portion of my time pretty soon. Jacob Black is actually one of my group members," I started off.

"Oh, really?" she asked nonchalantly. "I haven't seen him since your dad's barbecue over the summer. How's he doing?"

"He's fine. Same old, same old," I replied, not really caring to elaborate. My nerves began to build up, knowing that I had to bring Edward up as soon as possible, before I chickened out. I just had to go in...for the kill. Right now.

Okay...here goes...

I took a breath, trying to brace myself together and mask my anxiousness.

"Ummm...Bella, are you okay?"

"Ugh...Yeah why?" I raised my right eyebrow and bit my lower lip.

"You look a little flushed...are you nervous about something?" she asked, looking concerned.

Just great. Of course Alice would be able tell when I'm getting worked up! As if I weren't enough of an open book for the entire world to see already...

"No, I'm fine. I've just been feeling a little off today," I lied.

"If you say so..." Alice said while looking at me with an arched eyebrow, clearly not believing me. "So...you were talking about your Sociology project...?"

"Oohh...I was just going to say there was this guy that asked about joining my group before Jacob and Seth came along, but I kind of made a fool out of myself and he walked away before I got to tell him he could join us..."

Alice cut me off before I could tell her I was talking about Edward. "Ooohhh...was he cute?" she cut me off and widened her eyes, her curiosity rising.

Without having to look at myself, I knew I was blushing. Deeply. I literally felt the blood flowing through my veins. My hands were even beginning to look a little swollen from all the blood that was flowing. I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the pounding in my chest. "I guess so," I admitted, shrugging. There was no use in denying that. Any girl could see that Edward was an attractive guy. Especially with those eyes...

"He had green eyes and bronze hair...and he towered over me." I continued, in a shaky voice.

"Did you catch his name?"

"Yeah. Edward." Once his name slipped from my lips, a couple intense sensations overtook me. First, I became hyper aware, waiting for Alice's reaction. My anxiety began to recede now that the worst part was over. I finally put his name out there. But then I felt things I didn't expect. Saying Edward's name out loud felt...relieving. Nice. Good.

The first expression I noticed on Alice's face was one of surprise. Then a second or two later, a smile crept up on her lips, her eyes looking excited and mischievous. "Oh?"

"Yep," I replied simply, still keeping my guard up.

"So he just told you his name, and that's it?" she asked, in a slightly annoyed tone. She leaned forward and let her upper ribcage rest against the table.

"Well, not exactly. We were talking a little before you showed up on Tuesday."

"What the hell, why didn't he stay?" she complained, rolling her eyes. Her voice caught the attention of a couple that were sitting at a table beside us. She didn't seem to care or notice as she looked at me expectantly, waiting for my answer.

"I don't know. It's not that big of a deal," I said, feeling self-conscious.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, he better not do it next time," she said, sounding irritated.

"Next time? Yeah right."

"Why do you say that?"

I ignored her question. "He's on your friends list, you know." I narrowed my eyes, looking at her accusingly.

"I know," Alice said, rolling her eyes again. She had an annoyed look on her face as she leaned back against her seat.

What the hell? So she did know Edward and I had the class together? I began to feel surprised, yet irritated, at the same time...then I felt somewhat betrayed and hurt. Why did she keep me out of the loop? Was I that lousy of a friend that she wouldn't even bother telling me I had a class with her cousin?

"How come you didn't you tell me? Especially when you were talking about him a couple days ago?" I felt my irritation increase with each passing second.

The couple that looked over to Alice earlier placed their focus on me this time. I turned my head towards them and gave a what the hell are you looking at? look. They looked away and resumed their conversation, looking embarrassed. Good.

"Ah, goodness," Alice sighed after pausing for a few seconds. "Would it have really made a difference if you knew? You probably would have thought that I was trying to set you up with him if I told you- just like how you thought that a couple days ago. Then you probably would have just ignored him, anyway."

"Alice, come on. He's your cousin! You should know I would never do that to one of your family members! Plus, it was your facial expression that gave you away on Tuesday, not that you mentioned Edward. It was so painfully obvious...How did you know we had that class together, anyway?"

Alice rolled her eyes. Boy, she was sure doing a lot of that today. "Oh come on, Bella. How many times have we met up in front of your classroom? Of course I would have seen him by now. Plus, he told me his schedule before the quarter even started."

"Then why didn't you say anything if you saw him?" I asked skeptically, raising my eyebrows.

Alice paused once again like earlier, pondering on how to answer my question. "That's something you should talk to him about," she finally said. "But I will tell you that he has known who you were for awhile."

"So he knows for sure that we know each other?"

"Yes. But like I said, talk to him."

I thought about that for awhile, resting my right elbow on the table with my hand on my chin. My emotions were mixed up- I didn't know what to make out of them. I was upset, disappointed, relieved, hurt, confused...and then all of a sudden I felt a headache beginning to form. Why did I have to feel things so intensely? Something like this shouldn't be a big deal, right?

I closed my eyes and ran my right hand up and down my face, trying to push my thoughts away. My appetite went down the drain, my sandwich and cappuccino all but forgotten. Thankfully, Alice remained quiet and let everything settle in. She knew it was best to leave me to my thoughts when I acted this way.

After a minute or two, I finally spoke up. "I still don't get why you didn't tell me. It's not like you."

"I didn't feel like it was my place to."

"What do you mean? That doesn't make any sense," I said, as my irritation began to rise again. "Is it really that big of a deal that I have a class with your cousin?"

"I don't think so," she said simply, shrugging her shoulders.

"What. The. Hell?"

"I just don't know, okay? Don't ask me anymore about it, because it's not going to get us anywhere."

"Fine then. Whatever."

"Look, obviously I'm not trying to set you guys up," she said defensively. "I don't want him to be your rebound guy."

"Well that still doesn't mean you couldn't do something as simple as telling me he was in my class, especially since you knew. Doing that doesn't mean you're playing matchmaker, Alice. I'm actually feeling quite offended right now. You make me feel like a shitty friend or something."

"Ugh, damnit. I didn't mean for you to feel that way! Please don't get mad at me," Alice pleaded, looking sad. "Like I said...I don't know. Okay? Honestly. You know I wouldn't do this type of thing if there weren't a good reason behind it."

I sighed loudly and slouched back on the rest of my chair. Despite the weirdness of the situation, I did believe Alice. After years of knowing her, I knew she was telling me the truth. And I understood what she meant about not wanting her cousin to play the role of rebound guy and I didn't like the sound of the either. But with her knowing my pattern of rejecting guys, she shouldn't have expected much to happen between Edward and I, anyway.

"You know, I tried talking to him last night. He brushed me off."

"That doesn't surprise me. He was probably embarrassed or nervous about how he was on Tuesday. He may not always look like it with his good locks and all," Alice giggled, "but he has a sensitive ego."

"I'll try to be nice, but he pissed me off," I sighed. "The way he acted towards me last night was embarrassing, and people saw it." I cringed, trying to shake the memory away of stupid Jessica Stanley and the look on her face.

"What did he do?"

"When I tried talking to him during break, he gave me the cold shoulder brushed me off for no reason. All I said was 'hi' and he looked like he wanted nothing more but for me to leave him alone...as if he were too good for my presence. He was the complete opposite of how he was on Tuesday."

"Oh goodness..." Alice sighed. "He's just being immature. He'll get over it eventually if you still talk to him."

"Ehhh...we'll see about that."

"On THAT note," Alice giggled, "I think it's time to get out of here."

I couldn't agree with her more. We got up and headed for the door. Just as I went to push the door open it flew open. There stood Edward. He looked at me and then turned his head to look at Alice. I didn't see what Alice's expression was, but right after he looked at her he rolled his eyes and said in a stern voice, "Hello Ladies."

With that he started to walk past me into the Ave. I turned to look at Alice and I saw her mouth to Edward as he passed "Tell her" With that I turned and headed for my next class.

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Remember: reviews=teasers! I did post some on my blog, but removed them a few days ago. I also wrote a one shot, called "After All." Check it out! :D

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	6. Acquaintance

Well…here's the next chapter! Some changes were made to the previous chapter, so you might wanna read that before you get to this...

Wanna give a shoutout and thank my beta, bellasalterego for editing the chapter.

Stephenie Meyer owns everything _Twilight_. I own the rest. No reproduction/redistribution without my consent.

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Ever since my conversation with Alice and run in with Edward at the cafe, I decided it just wasn't worth it to dwell on The Mystery of Edward Cullen. There was nothing I could do about it after all, so I kept telling myself that It was just best to move on and forget about him. Of course, living with that mindset was easier said than done. I couldn't find it in myself to brush off the annoyance I felt, especially when I had to see Edward in class. Whenever he was around, irritation would wash over me and my blood would begin to boil. And it didn't help that he continued to act as if I didn't exist. That is, until the last day of lecture in Professor Varner's class.

"Hi, Bella," Edward said, walking over to me once class was over.

I gritted my teeth, holding back the urge to confront him. _Remember what you promised Alice, remember what you promised Alice, remember what you promised Alice...Be nice...be nice...be nice..._

The mental mantra didn't work. "Sooo...to what do I owe this pleasure?" I asked sarcastically.

Taken aback, Edward looked down at the floor and mumbled. "I just wanted to apologize for how I acted a couple weeks I know that I embarrassed you...I was being an ass and I'm sorry."

"You? Embarrass _me_?" I scoffed. "What makes you think that?"

"I don't know...I just saw how you looked during the rest of the class period-"

I cut him off. "Why are you apologizing all of a sudden? It's been awhile since it's happened."

"I still feel bad about it." His face began to redden. _Good_.

"Okay. Well, You apologized now I hope you feel better about it now." I turned my back to him and began to slip my backpack around my shoulders, an indicator that I was finished with our conversation.

"Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry again. Now I will leave you alone," Edward mumbled to my back.

I turned around to face him, about to give him another smartass remark, but once I saw his eyes, my bitterness disappeared immediately. He looked so vulnerable and helpless; it was clear that his apology was sincere. And those eyes. Those piercing, haunting, gorgeous green eyes. _Damnit, why did I have to look into them?_Just as he turned around to head towards the classroom exit, guilt overruled my conscience and before I knew it, I followed him out into the hallway.

"Hey, I didn't mean to be like that. Sorry."

Edward's expression lifted slightly, a smile forming within the corner of his mouth.

"Yes you did. But it's okay. I deserved it."

I returned his smile, feeling my insides soften. Ugh, so much for being angry at him.

"So, why were you like that anyway?"

Edward suddenly turned sheepish and looked towards the ground. "I was embarrassed of how I acted that one time we talked."

I giggled and nodded my head. Alice was right; he did have a fragile ego.

"That leads me to the next thing I'm curious about," I said, looking him square in the eyes. "Why did you leave so abruptly then?"

Edward slowed his pace and closed his eyes for a couple seconds, squinting his eyelids. When he finally opened them, he avoided my stare. "You're going to think I'm so weird," he said while shaking his head.

"Try me," I smiled, encouraging him.

"Well...I _know _that you're aware that Alice and I know each other because of our run in at the cafe..."

"Yes, I am. And I assume you wanted to avoid her that time we talked...?" I trailed off.

Edward nodded his head. "Yeah."

"Care to elaborate on that?"

"She can just be a little pushy sometimes. I knew that if she found out we had a class together, she'd want to play matchmaker or something. I didn't want to deal with that...and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have wanted that either."

Just as I was about to say something, my cell phone rang. I picked it up without looking at the screen, knowing that it was her.

"Hey Alice, where are you?" I asked while still looking at Edward. He stood at his spot frozen, looking nervous. My eyes softened; I couldn't help but sympathize. I knew that feeling all too well.

"_I just entered the building_," Alice said. "_I'll be at your classroom in a sec_."

"Alright, see you soon."

I hung up the phone.

"Alice is on her way..." I warned Edward, letting my voice trail off.

"So I've heard..."

"Are you okay?" I asked, noticing his continued discomfort. "I still want to talk about all this, but we can do that later if you'd like."

"No, I'll stay. Might as well face the music," he replied with an edge to his voice.

I arched my eyebrows, contemplating on why he was still making such a big deal out of this. Then before I knew it, Alice had joined us. The look on her face was priceless.

"Edward?" she greeted him with a smile the size of Texas, "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing, Alice?" Edward replied, rolling his eyes.

Alice ignored his comment and gave him a huge, tight hug, practically squeezing him to death. "I'm so happy to see you! It's been _forever_!"

"Owww, owww, owww, Alice," Edward chuckled while releasing himself out of her hold and rubbing his arms. "Not all of us are as strong as you, tiny dancer."

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny. Anyway, come with Bella and me to my car. I'll drop you off at your apartment!" she insisted.

Edward looked over at me, examining my reaction. "Is that okay with you, Bella?"

"Oh gosh, of course it's okay," Alice answered for me. "Isn't it, Bella?"

"Sure," I shrugged. "No biggie."

Yeah, right. No biggie, my ass. Inside, I my stomach was doing flips. I hadn't felt that way since..._him_.

We stepped outside into the crisp air, walking along the bricked walkway of the quad. During the daytime, I usually enjoyed this area of the campus. It's so beautiful with the open landscape and cherry blossom trees, but at this hour, it was creepy...haunting almost. There weren't any lamps or source of lighting to lighten up the walkway other than the dim classroom lights from nearby buildings, so it gave the quad an eerie feeling. You'd think that with this university being over one hundred and fifty years old, _something _would have been done about the lighting. But nooo...

"So..." Alice started, breaking the silence, "What have you been up to, Edward? You've been leaving every time that I see you lately."

"I told you I've been busy," Edward replied defensively. "You know I'm getting used to this campus as well."

"Well, I could have helped you out with that."

"Yeah, well I kinda wanted to do it myself plus it's too late now, huh?" he bumped against her right shoulder, smirking. "I doubt I would have had much time to do my homework with you around."

"Ha, ha. You do need a social life though. Seriously. This is _college _for crying out loud!"

"Yeah, well...I'm getting by."

"Uh huh," Alice said skeptically.

As we continued walking, I mainly kept to myself, listening to Alice's and Edward's conversation. I made little observations, taking in whatever information I could get about Edward. It turned out that he enjoyed baseball and running, and that he liked to spend his free time playing the piano. I made a mental note to myself to ask him to play for me sometime. I _loved_the piano; it was one of my favorite instruments.

"Would you like me to introduce you to some girls? I'm sure there's plenty who would _love _to get to know you," Alice said in a rebellious tone as we neared the parking lot.

I hitched a breath, taken off guard by Alice's statement. Not Edward! None of the girls that attended this university would be good enough for him. Especially girls like Jessica Stanley. My stomach got queasy at just the mere thought of them being together.

"You okay over there, Bella? What's wrong?" Alice asked, turning her attention towards me. Edward's eyes followed hers, checking out my expression.

I avoided both of their stares and looked straight ahead, paying more attention than necessary at the set of stairs ahead of us. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I just heard you gasp all of a sudden."

"Oh. Well, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I just thought I saw something in the shadows," I lied.

"Alright then." Alice gave me the once-over and picked up from where she left off.

"So Edward, what do you say? Wanna meet some _ladies_?"

"No, I'm fine I don't really want to meet anyone new right now," Edward snarled. I mentally blew a sigh of relief. _Thank You, God_.

"Awww, why not? Already _found_someone?" she smiled slyly, accusingly.

"None of your business, Alice," Edward spat.

"I take that as a yes!" Alice giggled, ignoring his attitude.

Even in the dark, I could notice Edward's tension. There was _definitely _someone he was interested in. _Lucky girl_.

"Who is she?" Alice pressed.

"She was in one of my classes," he admitted softly, sounding nervous. Goodness...he must really like her. I was beginning to feel some sort of rush, getting more jealous by the second. I didn't need to hear this.

"Her name?"

"_Alice He said no give it up.._." I threatened, his irritation evident so I had to step in.

"Oh _come on_, he can't do that to me! He can't leave me hanging!" she said sarcastically.

Edward ignored her and rolled his eyes.

"It's okay. I think I have an idea anyway," Alice sang.

"_Shut it, Alice!_"

"Geez, I'm not gonna _do _anything...don't worry. I wouldn't _step in_." She narrowed her eyes at him, and I could have sworn they were having some sort of silent conversation.

When we finally reached Alice's car, Edward insisted that I take the front passenger seat. I accepted, and let him enter the car first so he could claim his spot in the back. Once everyone was settled, Alice revved up the engine and turned on her stereo. The Backstreet Boys' song, "I Want it that Way," played through the speakers. "Wow, I haven't heard this song in forever!" Alice exclaimed. "I used to sing this song _all the time _when it first came out! Remember, Bella?"

I laughed. "How could I forget? You were certain that you were going to marry Brian Littrell."

"I know! And remember you were _madly in love _with Nick?"

"Haha, of course! The sad thing is, I _still_ have a thing for him...and probably will for life," I chuckled. This was true- Nick Carter was my dream guy. He set the standard for the essentials: blonde hair, blue eyes, sense of humor...he can sing and dance...he had it all. He was the full package in my eyes. The only one who was _remotely _close to Nick was...

_Subject change!_

"So, are you glad that we're done with Varner's class?" I asked Edward, turning my head around to face him.

"Kind of. I actually didn't mind that class too much."

Alice exhaled loudly through her nose and smirked, suppressing a giggle. Edward burned daggers at the back of her head with his intense, green eyes. _Cousin love got to love it_.

"I guess it wasn't. I didn't even know you were in that class until that day you asked to be in my group though. Apparently I'm that unobservent" I stared him straight in the eye and quirked my left eyebrow, reminding him of the conversation I intended to have with him in the near future.

Edward lifted the right corner of his mouth into a shy smile. _So cute_. "I know. That's what you get for sitting in the front," he teased.

"I guess so," I smiled. _Gosh, it was nice to see him a little unguarded like this_. "At least we've officially met now. It's so weird to know that I had a class with _you_...Alice's _cousin_,and didn't even know it. Alice and I have known each other for years!"

"Yeah, I've seen you in some of her pictures on her Facebook page," he admitted.

"Oh gosh...which ones did you see?" The pictures from Alice's and my weekend trip to Vancouver crossed my mind, and I couldn't help but cringe. I drank wayyy too much during those two nights...

"Well...her current default picture actually has you in it. But I've also seen some albums from trips and stuff."

"Oh? Which trips?" _Watch him say Vancouver..._

"Well, there's a few...but the one that comes to mind right now is Vancouver." He smirked.

_Ha, knew it! _"Yeah...I was pretty wasted throughout most of the trip," I laughed. "It was fun, other than the massive hangover I had on the drive back home."

"Yeah, I bet."

"Hey, Edward, have you had dinner yet?" Alice chided in.

Edward cocked one of his eyebrows. "No..."

"We should get something to eat then! Bella, would Charlie mind if you had dinner with us?"

_Hmmm_...I'm sure Charlie could get by without me for just _one _evening...

"Ahhh, sure. I'll call him in a few. Where do you want to eat?"

"Is Olympia Pizza okay? It's only a few minutes away."

"That's fine with me. What about you?" I asked Edward

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Alright then, it's settled!" Alice sqealed. "I finally get to hang out with my nearly non-existent cousin!"

"Very nice, Alice," Edward said sarcastically.

Once Alice parked in the parking lot to Olympia Pizza, I called Charlie from inside the car while Alice and Edward politely waited for me outside. I told him that I was going to have dinner with Alice and her _male _cousin whom I _just met_, and unsurprisingly, he was perfectly fine with it. By the tone of his voice, it was obvious that he was glad to see his little girl take a step on moving on from..._him_, as minor as it was. After I was done speaking with Charlie, I joined Alice and Edward outside and walked towards the entrance.

Inside the restaurant, the environment was extremely quiet. The large maroon booths and dim lights offered a mellow mood and sense of privacy. I knew immediately upon entering that this was not the best place for Alice to be at the moment; she was _beyond_ excited to spend time with her cousin, and an excited Alice usually led to a _loud_Alice. I tapped her shoulder and whispered, "Hey, do you think we should get the food to go? We might be a little disruptive in here."

Alice shrugged her shoulders. "We're fine. Or if you want, we could take the pizza over to Edward's apartment." She looked over to him. "What do you think Edward? Should we eat here or take the food to go and eat at your place?"

"It doesn't matter to me," Edward shrugged "Either choice is fine with me."

"Hmmm...maybe we should eat at your apartment. We can annoy you longer," Alice giggled as Edward rolled his eyes.

We ordered one large box of the number fourteen, which had pepperoni, Canadian bacon and mushrooms; and a medium sized plain cheese pizza. The aroma in Alice's car on the drive to Edward's apartment reminded my stomach that I hadn't eaten since twelve thirty in the afternoon, and it was now approaching seven o'clock. I was seriously contemplating on opening the box and eating a slice during the drive. By the time we made it to Edward's apartment, I was so hungry to the point where I felt nauseous.

"Dude, I need to eat like..._yesterday_," I said as we walked through Edward's front door. "I seriously feel like my stomach may eat itself if I don't put something in it."

Edward placed the boxes of pizza on his kitchen counter with a concerned look on his face. "Here, Bella. Eat before you keel over from starvation," he half-teased.

I flipped one of the lids open and took a slice of pizza, not even bothering to search for a napkin or plate. I needed food in my stomach, and I needed it _now_. One of the many things Eleazar engrained in my head during the past several years was, _eat your meals on time_.

"Mmmmm," I closed my eyes shut and moaned, savoring each flavor of the pizza with my tastebuds after taking a bite; "This is _sooo good_."

After swallowing, I looked up and saw a frustrated Edward watching me. "Are you alright? I'm sorry I was so rude-"

"No, you're fine, Bella," Edward said unconvincingly as he ran the palm of his right hand down his face. "Don't mind me...I'll be right back." Edward rushed into his restroom and quickly shut the door.

"What did I do?" I turned to Alice.

"He's just being a _guy_," Alice smirked. I arched my eyebrows at her, confused. Alice let out an exasperated sigh. "Seriously Bella...no worries." She rolled her eyes.

"Okay...whatever you say..." I said, taking another bite off of my pizza. As I chewed with too much food stuffed in my mouth that it was on the verge of spilling out, I could have sworn I heard Alice mutter something that sounded a lot like _naive_.

"Did you say something?" I asked through my full mouth.

Alice shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing," she hummed as she grabbed a couple cans of soda out from the refrigerator.

Now that my nauseousness had disappeared, I got the chance to really take in the appearance of Edward's apartment. It was surprisingly clean for a guy who lived on his own. There weren't any articles of clothing or shoes scattered around, and his kitchen counters were clear of crumbs and drink stains. There weren't even any unwashed dishes in the sink! When I looked down at the kitchen floor, I noticed that it looked well swept...even _mopped_. Then, as my eyes continued to wander I noticed Alice had removed her shoes. _Wow, does he live by the "no shoe" rule?_"Oh crap, why didn't you tell me to remove my shoes? I didn't know Edward was-"

"Don't worry about it." Alice waved her hand.

"Yeah right..." I said, taking off my shoes, then placing them near the front door. _Goodness...he even has a shoe rack_.

Edward still hadn't stepped out from the restroom, so I continued to look around. His living room had a large wooden coffee table, a black oversized couch, and a matching love seat that formed a right angle, making the shape of an "L." They both looked _extremely _comfortable and inviting. As my head continued to turn I saw a large flat screen television, stereo, and a couple shelf stands with dvds and blu-rays. Then, against one of the walls, there it was...the _piano_. It was an upright but still beautiful; it looked modern and well taken care of. I walked towards it saw pictures placed on the top. They mainly consisted of groups of friends and family members. _Good, no girls_.

A few minutes later, Edward finally exited from the restroom. Curious as to why he behaved the way he did earlier, I examined his appearance and noticed he looked somewhat sheepish and flushed. _Did he take a shit or something? _I let out an involuntary chuckle as the thought crossed my mind. When the sound reached his ears, he looked at me, then turned away immediately, looking...guilty. Then he was met with Alice's wiggling eyebrows and smirk, which caused him to redden even more.

"Did you guys help yourselves in the kitchen? I'm sorry I didn't offer you something to drink and show you where everything was..." Edward brushed off our looks and shook his head. "Damn, I'm a lousy host."

"Don't worry, Edward. I took care of it all," Alice said as she patted his left shoulder with a gleam in her eyes.

"_Good_," he said, brushing Alice away from him with his elbow. "You want to watch something on Netflix?" he asked, looking at me.

"Sure," I smiled.

All of us got settled onto Edward's couch, with him seated in the middle. After several minutes of browsing through movies, we settled on _The Family Stone_. It seemed suitable enough to watch- it with the holiday season coming up after all, and I _adored _Rachel McAdams.

"You've never seen this? I love this movie," Edward said as the opening credits started.

"I wasn't really into movies until after _Mean Girls _came out," I admitted. "Rachel McAdams did me in."

"Goodness..." Edward said, shaking his head. "Well, hopefully you'll like this movie. She is in it after all."

We watched the movie in comfortable silence, other than laughing at the expected parts. By the end of the first half of the movie, I started to drift in and out of consciousness. The pizza made me feel so full and relaxed; I couldn't help it. Edward noticed this and leaned towards me. "Do you want me to stop the movie?" he asked in a soft voice.

"No, I'm fine," I yawned. "Alice is driving me home anyway."

"Okay," Edward said, reaching his hand out slowly towards me to move a loose strand of hair that was near my mouth. As his skin made contact with mine, a warmth coursed through me and I sighed. I sunk down further into the couch and rested my head onto his shoulder, drowning into the comfort he made me feel. What was it about him that made me feel this way? So...drawn? So...at ease? I still had so much to learn about him...

"Thanks for having me here," I murmured.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you came," he said softly against my hair.

"Me too."

I tried to keep my eyes open, but it was pointless. Before I knew it, I fell asleep.

* * *

Blog: MeLikesToRead(dot)blogspot(dot)com

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	7. Progression

So...it's been awhile since I've updated, and I apologize for that! I was so consumed with busy work from my senior year, but now that I'm done and am in the process of job hunting, I'll be able to update more frequently. :)

Thanx to bellasalterego for beta'ing the chapter!

Now, on with the show...

Stephenie Meyer owns everything _Twilight_. I own the rest. No redistribution without my consent._  
_

* * *

_We were outside, laying down on a bed of purple wildflowers and fresh, green grass. Out here, in the middle of nowhere in this wide open space of the meadow, I was in awe with my surroundings. Everything was perfect, like this place was straight out of a fairy tale. It just wasn't _real_. The sun was shining, and I felt the warmth of the sun rays cover my skin like a blanket. _

_Allowing my surroundings to take over my senses, I inhaled deeply, consuming myself with fresh air and the scent that never failed to intoxicate me...the only scent that had the ability to captivate my mind and overrule logic._

_"Mmmm, you smell so good," I murmured into Edward's neck as I ran my nose along his jawline._

_"Bella, you need to stop-" he said in a strained voice._

_"No. I don't want to."_

_"Bella..."_

_"No, Edward."_

_"Please..._

_"No."_

…..

"Bella...Bella, wake up," a soft voice whispered into my ear while tapping my shoulder. "It's eight-thirty."

I mumbled, my mood shifting immediately from completely and utterly blissed out to irritated. I was comfortable and at ease for once, and _did not _want this dream to end. I rolled over to my side, and then before I knew it...

_THUMP_.

"What the hell?_!_" I yelled after falling onto the floor. _Where was I?_

"Oh my gosh, Bella are you okay?" Edward asked, bending down to meet me at eye level.

_Why is he wearing different clothes? Just a moment ago he was in khakis and a white collared, sleeveless shirt._

I looked around, disoriented, taking in my surroundings. _Flat screen television...love seat..._piano.

_Crap...I'm still at Edward's apartment!_

"_Shit!_ I'm supposed to be home right now! I didn't even call my dad..._!_" I jumped up from the floor in panic and ran over to Edward's kitchen to grab my backpack. I turned my head from side to side, unsure of what to do. How the hell do I get out of this building? Where was Alice? I ran my fingers frantically through my hair and started to circle the kitchen like a madwoman, trying to gather my thoughts together and calm down. _I needed my medicine_.

"Hey...everything's okay," Edward said, trying to calm me down. "Alice had to leave for dance rehearsal a couple hours ago, but she called your dad last night to let him know you were here. She also came back real quick before heading to the studio to drop this off." He handed me a Nordstrom shopping bag, and inside were a change of clothes and a small paper lunchbag. I picked up the lunchbag to peak inside. Makeup..._groan_...Moisturizer..._groan_...And then, there it was. My lamotrigine. I sighed in relief.

"Thanks so much," I said, trying to calm myself down. "You're great."

"No problem," he smiled. "I have an extra toothbrush in the restroom you can use, and you're more than welcome to take a shower if you'd like."

"Perfect. Thanks again." I dropped my backpack beside the couch and walked into the bathroom. Once I closed the door shut, I placed the Nordstrom bag onto the floor and leaned my back against the door. _ "Everything's fine," _I chanted to myself silently as I took deep breaths, coursing my fingers through my tangled hair. My heart was still pounding, trying to recover. After a few seconds, I caught my reflection in the mirror. Gosh, I looked like a complete mess. My hair was sticking out in all directions, making me look like Medusa. Edward must think I'm an idiot.

I took my medicine and stepped into his spotless, clean shower. _No surprise there_. It was the perfect antidote for my anxiety. Once the warm water landed upon my head and the rest of my body, my muscles instantly started to relax, feeling the effect of the heat. Of course, I couldn't forget the fact that I was in _Edward's _shower, using _his _shampoo, _his _conditioner, and _his _bar of soap.

_Whoa...his _soap.._mmmm_.

My thoughts drifted back to the dream I had right before Edward woke me up. I wasn't woken up with tears or sadness, or...screaming. It was nice. But why was Edward the star of my dream? Did I just dream about him because I was at his place or was it something else?

I didn't know how long I was in the shower- my thoughts made me lose track of time- but it must have been quite awhile. After shutting the water off and looking down at my hands, I noticed that the tips of my fingers had turned into prunes. I groaned to myself and hoped that I wasn't interfering with any plans or classes Edward may have had. I should have asked him before taking my precious time. If I made him miss a class or something, I'd have to find some way to repay him.

I dried myself off as fast as I could and grabbed the clothes Alice chose for me. I placed them onto the bathroom counter and cursed, irritated with what I saw. _Of course _she would choose a mini-skirt with stockings and heeled boots. The only article of clothing I was satisfied with was the turtle neck sweater.

After I was done getting ready and stepped out of the restroom, I saw Edward watching television from the same spot he was at last night. "How do you feel?" he asked, turning to face me. His eyes immediately turned towards my legs, and I could have sworn I saw his eyes bug out from his sockets a little. _Hmmmm, like what you see, Cullen?_

"Much better. Sorry for being such a train wreck when I woke up." I squirmed.

"No worries. I would have been shaken up too."

"Uh huhhh," I said skeptically, not believing him. "Do you have any classes today? I feel so bad..."

He shook his head. "I don't have to be at campus until one-thirty. What about you? I wasn't sure what time to wake you up."

"I have a quiz section at twelve-thirty," I replied.

I was going to add more, going to say that I could treat him to brunch or something, but my stomach spoke for me too soon. As if on cue, it growled. I rolled my eyes and covered my stomach with one of my hands.

"We better get some food in your stomach before you get nauseous on me again." Edward smiled his crooked grin. I smiled back, feeling embarrassed while my insides turn into a puddle of goo.

"I don't have that much breakfast food to choose from..." Edward confessed while walking towards the kitchen, "but I could make you pancakes. Or spam...?" he chuckled.

"Wow, spam? I haven't heard of that in a long time!" I said, amused. "It's okay though. What about the leftover pizza?"

He tsk'ed and shook his head. "I don't want you to have _leftovers _for breakfast at my place, Bella."

"It's really not a big deal," I shrugged. "I don't mind."

"Well Ido. Just humor me, will you?" he insisted.

I sighed, resigned. "Ok fine, I'll have pancakes, but _only_if you eat with me."

"Alright. Pancakes it is then." Edward's face lit up and I couldn't help but smile. Who knew that preparing a meal could make a guy so happy?

Edward went about the kitchen completely at ease, comfortable with what he was doing. For some reason, I found this _really _attractive. Sure, I've seen guys in the kitchen before, but the things they did mostly consisted of heating up microwave meals, getting beverages from out of the fridge, or preparing themselves a bowl of cereal. Seeing Edward like this was different...refreshing. When he was cracking the eggs and stirring the batter as if he'd done it a million times, I couldn't help but swoon a little. _Goodness, I'm practically drooling over him stirring _pancake batter_. What the hell? _

When the batter was ready and Edward started to cook the pancakes over the stove, he held a boyish grin on his face. He looked over at me as he flipped one of the pancakes over expertly and smirked. I couldn't help but smile and exaggeratedly roll my eyes. "Heyyy, _no one _is supposed to flip pancakes better than me!" I teased while walking over towards him.

Edward raised one of his eyebrows and smirked. "Ohh really? Well, that's too bad." He turned his attention back to the pancakes and I saw the smile that was instantly becoming one of my favorite sights.

Feeling bold, I stepped even closer and brought my hand towards the spatula, touching Edward's hand. A spark ran through my veins, making my entire arm tingle. A gasp automatically escaped from my lips and I felt Edward's hand tremble. A few seconds later, I finally turned my eyes away and looked up at his face. I was met with hooded eyelids and parted lips, seeing him stare down at my mouth. Lust overtook my body immediately and without thinking, I inched my face towards his. Just before our lips touched the words that Alice said at the cafe rang out in my head.

_I don't want him to be your rebound guy_.

Those words sobered my mind, and for the second time this morning, reality smacked me right in the face. "Ummm...may I?" I asked, moving away from his face and speaking with a shaky voice.

"Sure," Edward said in a gruff voice. He broke the physical contact between us and I held the spatula in my hand, still shaking nervously.

_Damnit, I can't do this right now. _

Sounding more like himself, he cleared his throat and asked in a polite tone, "So, did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did. Thanks for your hospitality, it was real sweet of you." I turned my neck to look at him and smiled shyly. It was the first time I spent the night at a guy's place.

After a minute of attempting to focus on the task at hand- cooking the stupid pancakes, I failed miserably. All that ran through my mind was what just happened between Edward and me. "You know, maybe I shouldn't do this," I resigned, avoiding his eyes.

"Alright," he said, taking the spatula back. This time, his skin didn't touch mine. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," he said softly, looking towards the ground. His face started to flush, looking embarrassed.

"You didn't make me feel uncomfortable," I said, trying to reassure him. It was true...he didn't make me feel _uncomfortable. _Just...surprised. I told him that and he nodded his head before turning back to the pancakes.

When the pancakes were finally ready, he suggested that we eat in the living room while watching television. I went along nonchalantly, not really caring where we ate, just as long as I didn't make a fool out of myself and spill syrup on a piece of clothing or his furniture. Thankfully, I didn't. But of course, being the gawky person I am, I couldn't slice the pancakes well enough into miniature pieces without shifting the plate all over the table. Edward laughed at this and offered to cut the pancakes for me, and I gladly accepted, no matter how silly it made me look. It was better than breaking a dish or something. Might as well save myself from any other kind of embarrassment.

"You're not that great with a knife, are you?" he teased.

"Yep...you caught me," I admitted, looking down at my knuckles. This has always been something I've been self-conscious about...being a girl in her twenties who lives with her single father, unable to use a knife to cut her own food properly. After living with my father for a number a years, I'm still unable to cut my own food.

Sensing my discomfort, Edward hummed and changed the subject. "Anyways, are you doing anything fun for winter break?"

"Not really. I'm just going to relax and catch up on some reading." I shrugged my shoulders. "What about you?"

"I don't have much planned either. I just don't know whether to spend most of my time here in Seattle or back in Forks."

"Alice told me your family's visiting here though. What would you be doing in Forks?" I asked, curious.

"I wouldn't mind spending some time alone up there. I kind of miss home. And although there's not that much to do in the actual town of Forks itself," Edward smirked, "there is Port Angeles and the Olympic range. It's beautiful there."

"That's true," I nodded. I recalled Charlie driving through those areas years ago, back when I was in middle school. "But the weather...wouldn't it be freezing and unsafe to drive in? Especially in the mountains."

"My family owns a four-runner and tire chains...I'll manage," he smiled. "I've lived there for years, so I'm used to all of that."

There goes that crooked smile. Again. Thanks to _that_, my response was slightly delayed. "Alright then, I'll take your word for it," I smiled back, trying recollect myself.

Fortunately, Edward didn't seem to notice my reaction, as he was finishing up slicing my pancakes into bite-sized pieces. He placed the plate in front of me, nodding. "You're good to go," he said, looking satisfied with himself.

"Thank you," I said softly before taking a bite.

By the time it was time to leave, I was stuffed. I felt like I couldn't get up from Edward's couch, I ate so much. Luckily Edward didn't poke fun at me about it. He just kept his eyes on the television with a small smile on his face.

On our way to campus, it struck me that I hadn't texted Alice to thank her for this morning. Or did I? I was so out of my element earlier, I hardly remembered anything prior to taking the shower. And did I even call Charlie?

"Do you remember if I texted or called anyone this morning?" I asked Edward as we were walking.

"Not that I recall," he said, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration.

"Crap. I better do that," I groaned.

I quickly sent a thank you text to Alice. When I called Charlie, he picked up before the second ring.

_"Bells?"_

"Yeah dad, it's me," I replied. "Just want you to know everything's okay. I'm at school now."

_"Okay, that's good. Took your medicine?"_

"Yes, I took my medicine," I reassured him. I gasped when I remembered Edward was with me. I looked over at him and saw him quirk one of his eyebrows, looking confused.

And just like that, I became on edge. _Way to go, Bella_, I thought to myself. I didn't want him to know about my issues!

_"What was that? Something wrong?"_

"No, everything's fine. I have to go. See you later," I said hurriedly.

_"Okay…umm, have a good day."_

"You too, dad," I said before hanging up the phone.

"Is something wrong? Are you sick?" Edward asked, searching my eyes.

"No, everything's fine," I replied in a detached tone, turning my eyes away.

"Yeah. You said that to your father just a second ago." Obviously, Edward didn't believe me, as I heard the skepticism in his voice.

"Well everything will be...no big deal."

"Okay..." he said, letting his voice trail off and ending the conversation.

We walked quietly towards the Quad, not uttering a single word. I noticed that his mood shifted, as his hands were buried deep in his pockets as he looked down at the ground with a disappointed look on his face. Seeing this made me become overridden with guilt.

"Hey, I'm sorry about how I acted. I didn't mean to be like that," I said, wanting him to feel better.

He continued to keep his face down, which did nothing but make me feel even more like shit. I hated seeing him like this. "Acting like what?" he asked softly.

"Acting weird just a minute ago."

"You didn't act weird, Bella. You don't have to explain yourself if you don't want to."

I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you..." I started, my voice trailing off.

I was about to say Edward's name, but for some odd reason, I just couldn't bring myself to say it. I felt self-conscious, like saying his name would expose me somehow. _What the hell was the big deal?_

Noticing the tone of my voice, Edward looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue. When he realized I wasn't going to say anymore, his expression quickly shifted back to how it was.

Suddenly my emotions got the best of me. I just couldn't do anything right today. I started chewing on my bottom lip, fighting back tears. It wasn't even twelve-thirty, and already I was on the verge of losing it.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Edward asked after a minute, looking concerned.

"Nothing. I'm just being overly-emotional for no reason," I said, sniffling as I felt my eyes starting to glass up.

"Hey, let's go somewhere real quick. You need a breather." Edward took my hand and walked me along the rest of the Quad, past Red Square, towards Drumheller Fountain. He sat us down at an open bench facing the water and looked over at me. It didn't escape my notice that he still hadn't let go of my hand. The same feeling from earlier seeped back into my system- that warm, tingling sensation...and I welcomed it. It was comforting and was already beginning to make me feel better. When he was about to let go of my hand I grasped onto his firmly, letting him know that I didn't want him to let go. Instead, I intertwined our fingers together, marveling at the impact of such a simple touch.

"Your hand comforts me," I told him honestly, not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed.

He took in a deep breath before responding. "I'm glad," he said simply. We locked eyes and I was met with my favorite smile. This made me smile in return, and I couldn't help but melt inside a little.

"Is there something you wanna talk about or do? You look like you could use a distraction."

"Well, what could we do? My quiz section is going to start in like, twenty minutes."

"Is your attendance today mandatory or critical to your grade?" he asked.

"No..."

"Then let's just skip today. Let's go somewhere."

"Where?"

"Wherever." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well gee..._that _sounds like fun," I said sarcastically, even though inside I really meant it.

"It will be," Edward said with a gleam in his eyes.

I shook my head and smirked. "Alright then, let's do it."

"Okay."

Edward's hand and mine were still linked together as we stood up from the bench and walked towards whatever laid ahead for the day. He was right...this "distraction" was definitely something I needed. I couldn't wait to see what was in store for us.

**~.~.~.~.~**

Less than an hour later, Edward and I found ourselves in the heart of downtown. We were at Pike Place Market, browsing through one of the many aisles of souvenirs, jewelry and clothing.

"Man, I haven't been here in _years_," I murmured, turning my head from side to side. The place was packed, filled with locals and tourists. It was pretty easy to differentiate between them- while the Seattleites carried bags of groceries and seafood while looking in a hurry, the tourists slowly paced down the aisles, taking their time to marvel over the antiques and speaking with the store owners, asking question after question. I was willing to bet that I was looking more like a tourist. As a young lady passed me, walking twice as fast as I was, she exhaled a loud _sigh _and rolled her eyes. Edward saw this and smirked. "Seems like that girl is in a crappy mood," Edward joked.

"Probably is. And it wouldn't surprise me if she was PMSing, the stupid bitch," I blurted. Realizing what I just said, my eyes widened and I covered my mouth with my right hand in shock. Edward chuckled, along with a few other people that overheard me. _Oops_.

We walked over to the original Starbucks, which was located right on the outskirts of the market. The place was packed, to say the least. It took us over half an hour to get our drinks, but I didn't mind the wait. It was theoriginal Starbucks after all, and Edward's company made the time fly by. We managed to find a place to sit near the front door, where we could breathe in the outside air.

"Normally, I'd avoid places like this, but you just make this so much fun!" I said to Edward, smiling. "I haven't felt this carefree in a long time."

"I'm having a good time too," he said softly, looking into my eyes.

"You were right about earlier, I did need a get away from all the stress. This was just what I needed." I sighed, breaking our eye contact before I lost coherency. "There must be something in your family bloodline that knows just what to do to make me feel better. Alice has always been the only person other than my dad that knew how to lift my spirits," I half-joked.

"I was just lucky," Edward laughed lightly. He paused for a moment before continuing. "Maybe you just need to open up more. I noticed in Varner's class that you tended to shut yourself off from others."

"Perhaps. But look who's talking." I pinched Edward's middle knuckle, subtly pointing out _his _behavior towards me, or rather lack thereof, in our class.

"You got me there," Edward shook his head. "I was such a dork."

"Perhaps," I said again, teasing him. "No, but really...you weren't a _'dork'_, just...shy...?"

"Yeah, I was definitely shy," he admitted, looking down at the table. "I didn't know how to introduce myself."

"But you wanted to?" I pressed.

"Yeah."

"What made you so shy?"

"It's kind of weird to explain."

"Try me," I challenged.

Looking like a deer trapped in front of headlights, Edward's expression made me feel awful, just like earlier before my little outburst. I shouldn't have pushed this on him if he didn't want to talk about it. He did offer me that courtesy after all, earlier on campus. And he was being such a gentleman. I didn't want this to ruin our day.

"Hey, no worries," I told him. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. You're entitled to do whatever you want to do, and say whatever you want to say. I'll leave the subject alone from now on. Completely." I squeezed his hand, running little circles along the inside of his palm with my thumb. It seemed to calm him down, as his posture seemed to relax a little. Stupid curiosity...I needed to push it aside. Even if I'd never know his reasons behind his behavior, I shouldn't let it eat at me. He didn't deserve to feel pressured.

"Thanks, Bella. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Heck, look what I did earlier. Can't say I regret doing it now though, since it brought me here with you," I smiled.

Edward's face lit up and he smiled, looking down. He was so shy, it was adorable. "True."

By the time we left Pike Place Market and headed towards the department stores, I was holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers that Edward bought with one arm, while my other hand was linked with Edward's. I still couldn't find it in myself to let go; it felt too good, and it wasn't awkward. And Edward didn't seem to mind, which was great.

"Thank you for all of this," I beamed, smiling down at my flowers.

"No problem," Edward said, looking extremely pleased. "I can hold the flowers for you while we walk around."

"Thanks." I handed Edward the flowers and tugged him into my favorite store, Nordstrom. I warned him that he was probably going to regret taking me here, since I tended to spend a large amount of time browsing through practically every rack of dresses and tops there was. I always checked each size section- extra small, small, medium, large, etc., on the chance that a shirt or dress of my size could have been misplaced.

"Hmmm, what do you think of this red dress?" I asked Edward, pulling it off of the rack and displaying it in front of him. "Do you think it's worth trying on? I need to find something to wear for Christmas."

"Yeah," Edward said, looking at it closely. "I think it looks nice."

"Hmmm," I hummed. "Okay." I laid the dress over my free arm.

"Is there something I can help you two find?" A sales associate asked, approaching us.

"No, I think we're good," I replied curtly. I hated dealing with sales people and the pressure they always put on people.

"Alright. Well if your boyfriend's not helping you out enough, you let me know." She looked at me and winked.

I froze in my tracks, completely thrown off guard. I looked over at Edward and saw him turn his face away, his face turning beet red.

"Ummm, thanks," I finally managed to say, not even bothering to tell her the truth. The sales associate walked away, smiling.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean for people to get that impression of us," I muttered, pulling my fingers from out of his grasp.

"It's okay," Edward muttered, facing one of the clothing racks.

I sighed loudly, annoyed by that stupid sales lady. "Well, I guess I'll try the dress on."

"Would you like me to come with you?" he asked, still not looking at me.

"Of course. I need a second opinion." I forced a smile, trying to make my voice sound light. "Let's go."

"What do you think?" I asked Edward a few minutes later after I stepped out of the dressing room stall, looking into one of the full-length mirrors.

"You look...beautiful," Edward said softly.

Those three words froze me on my tracks, causing my heart to pound intensely beneath my chest. No one of the opposite sex ever called me beautiful to my face, other than my father. Ever. Not even _him_.

"Really?" I asked in tiny voice, looking down at my feet.

"Yes. You should get it."

"Great. And now that lady will probably receive commission," I joked, trying to avoid turning into the shade of a tomato even though it was pretty much inevitable. Edward laughed at this and I smiled.

I went back into the dressing room and dressed as fast as I could, not wanting Edward to wait too long. When we approached the counter to pay for the dress, Edward insisted that he buy it.

"_You really don't have to do this!_" I hissed right after Edward snatched the dress from out of my hands.

"I insist," he countered, not taking no for an answer. "After all, it was my idea to skip today, so it's the least I can do."

There wasn't really much I could do about the situation. Edward said he wasn't going to let go of the dress until we were at the counter. I probably should have just given up on the dress altogether and say _screw it_. But I just couldn't. Not after he said I looked _beautiful_.

"Ugh, this is awful," I said, running my hand down my face.

"No it's not," he smiled widely.

"Gah, whatever."

As I was snarling while Edward walked towards the line, I received a text from Alice. I went to a nearby bench and sat down.

_Hey, where are you? -A_

_At Nordstrom. -B_

_What? Why are u there w/o me? -A_

_Your cousin brought me here -B_

_No f'ing way! -A_

_Yes f'ing way -B_

_Did you get anything? -A_

_Yep, a dress. Or rather, Edward's getting it for me -B_

_W.T.F... -A_

_Seriously -B_

_I'll be seeing you guys later this evening. No if's, and's, or but's about it! -A_

I groaned and stuffed my phone into my backpack, not even bothering to respond.

"Wow, did it bother you that much that I bought the dress?" Edward asked as he walked towards me, noticing my expression.

"_Ugh, _let's not go there right now. It's just Alice."

"Oh boy, what did she do now?"

I stood up and snatched the bag the dress was in before answering Edward's question. Edward was about to try and grab it back but I glared at him, letting him know I was not bs'ing around. Luckily, he got the idea and just let me carry it as we walked towards an escalator.

"It's not what she _did_, but what she's _going _to do," I finally said. She's going to interrogate us. I blurted out about this." I nodded towards the dress.

"Oh boy," Edward sighed.

"Oh boy is right."

"I'm sorry."

Those words stopped me on my tracks. "_Sorry? _You have no reason to be sorry. Trust me," I said firmly.

"But she's gonna ask non-stop questions-"

I cut him off. "Whatever she will do or say won't make me regret or feel annoyed about today." I assured him.

"Really?" Edward asked.

"Really."

He smiled, and with his free hand, he reached for mine. He intertwined our fingers together and I felt myself begin to fall apart beneath his touch...making my insides feel weaker and my heart beating faster once again. I couldn't believe that a guy I've known in such a shortamount of time would have such an effect on me.

I sighed. "What are you doing to me, boy? Buying me dresses and all when you barely know me."

"You're my cousin's best friend. And you deserved to be treated today."

"Well gee, thanks. I guess I should feel like crap more often then," I joked.

"Yeah, maybe," he smirked.

"Alright Casanova, I think it's time we head back and face Alice before she comes up with any more questions that might pop into that little head of hers."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

He grabbed my hand and we headed out to meet up with Alice and her Spanish inquisition.

* * *

Thoughts? Do you think things are going at a decent pace with them? Let me know!


	8. Openness

A/N: I just want to give a big thanks to those who have been keeping up with this ff. I really, really appreciate it…more than you know. I've yet to "pimp the story" so to speak, with the fandom, but I think I'll be doing that in the near future. I'm still working on developing/improving my craft since I'm new to the "writing fic" world, and I just wanted to make sure that I know what I'm doing before I attempt to share my work more openly. Know what I mean?

...which leads me to giving a big thanks to my beta, bellasalterego. : )

Stephenie Meyer owns everything _Twilight_. I own the rest. No redistribution without my consent.

* * *

"Okay you two, spill it," Alice said before Edward and I even saw her. We stepped into view and she looked from me to Edward with a serious, accusatory expression on her face once we reached his apartment. She was already waiting for us for God-knows-how-long at his front door, standing and tapping her right foot with her spiked stiletto heels.

Her scrunched eyebrows arched, widening in shock when she took in the sight before her- the flowers, shopping bag, and of course, Edward's and my hands linked together.

"Wow. _I apparently missed a lot_," Alice said, the tone in her voice mirroring her facial expression as she continued to stare at our hands.

Edward exhaled loudly. "Can we bring this inside before you interrogate us? And I don't want to give my neighbors something to talk about." Edward let go of my hand and unlocked the front door. He stepped off to the side, letting Alice enter first, and then me. Once he got in and shut the door, he kicked his shoes off and hung his coat inside the coat closet.

"Care for me to hang your coats in here, or do you have other plans?"

"We can stay for awhile, thanks." Alice answered.

I groaned, feeling like a child. Count on her to answer for both of us. When I looked at her, her eyes kept shifting from me to Edward repeatedly, rapidly. It was almost making me dizzy. After what seemed like an eternity of awkward silence, I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Alice, I had a rough start to my day, and Edward offered to take me out so I could ease my mind off things. That's why we went to downtown," I said in a rush

"Hence the hand holding..._and _the flowers?" she asked, raising her eyebrows once again and looking over at the flowers that were now placed on Edward's kitchen counter.

"Nothing else happened. I swear."

"Hmmm...okay..." she said after a few second pause, her face showing neither approval nor disapproval. What was she thinking? Was she happy about this? Disappointed? For once, I couldn't get a good read on her.

"Are you okay, though?" I asked, feeling uneasy at not knowing how she was feeling. "Seriously, everything we did was last minute. We weren't trying to hide anything from you."

"No, I'm fine. Just do me a _huge _favor and don't rush things, okay?" She searched my eyes, concern clearly written across her face. She didn't have anything to worry about, though. It's not like I was planning on having things get any further than they already have, even if I really did have feelings for Edward. Being in a relationship seemed like the last thing I needed.

I sighed. "Alice, we'll be fine."

"Well, you guys literally just started to get to know each other less than twenty-four hours ago, and now you're holding hands?" Alice accused. "That's not like either of you guys."

"I don't know. It's just...I like it." I murmured softly, unsure if either Alice or Edward heard me. I avoided their stares and faced Edward's piano.

"Okay." From out of the corner of my eye, I saw the soft smile on Alice's face. "And how do _you _feel, Edward?" she asked, her head turning towards him.

"The same," Edward confessed, his voice soft, just as mine was. He shifted his foot from one to the other. Obviously, he was just as uncomfortable as I was.

"Alright. So no funny business? Because you two _know_ I will kick your butts if find out there is."

"I _swear_, Alice."

"Okay. I won't bother you guys about it. But remember, _I'll be watching you_." Alice gave both Edward and I the signature gesture Robert DeNiro uses from _Meet the Parents_. She was back to her regular self, her face showing some animation once again. Thank God, I thought.

"Oh wait! I still don't know what you guys did in downtown!" Alice squealed.

Edward rolled his eyes and sighed at the same time I answered her question. "We basically went to Pike Place Market and Nordstrom, hence the flowers and dress, _Alice_."

"And Starbucks," Edward added.

"Oh yes. And Starbucks."

"Awww, that's nice." she smiled. "_Nothing else_? Did anything interesting happen on the bus?"

I arched my eyebrows. Goodness, my best friend could be so weird sometimes. What the hell would be so interesting on a bus? "No, _nothing exciting_ happened on the bus."

"Okay." she nodded. "So, Edward...come with Bella and me tonight! We're going to meet up with some friends at Belltown."

"Since when was I going to _Belltown_?" I sneered as I walked over to Edward's love seat and sat down. I was not in the mood for going out. All I wanted to do was stay in. I was worn out.

Alice looked at me, shocked. "Don't you remember you agreed go out with Rosalie, Emmett and me for _Jasper's performance _at the Crocodile Cafe a few weeks ago! You're _going_!"

I groaned. _Damnit, I forgot about that._ There was no way I was going to get out of this. Not when it involved my best friend's soon-to-be boyfriend. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"I need to go back to my place to change and get ready. I probably should cook a quick meal for Charlie, too." I looked over at Edward, searching his emerald eyes. "_Please _come. I'm going to be the fifth wheel."

Edward asked who was going, and after a minute or two of trying to convince him, he gave in. Alice was so excited, she jumped up and down and hugged him tightly, practically squeezing the air out of him.

"Is there some kind of dress code?" Edward asked Alice as he pushed her off of him in order to catch his breath.

"No, you're fine with your white polo and jeans. You look good, sir." She squinted her blue eyes at him, and just like last night during our walk to her car, they looked like they were having some kind of secret conversation.

I exhaled, irritated. "You know, there's another person in the room. Care to share?"

"It's nothing, Bella. Alice is just being annoying."

"Pssshhh, whatever," Alice brushed him off. "Let's head out now."

Alice drove the three of us back to Redmond. She dropped me off at my house while she and Edward went to her place. She said she was going to "freshen up," which I'm pretty sure meant that she was going to take a shower and get ready all over again. Not that I minded, though. I needed time to recollect, to get myself back together and let the events that occurred earlier in the day settle in. The alone time was just what I needed.

When I noticed Charlie wasn't home, I called his cell phone to ask if he wanted anything for dinner.

"_No, I'm fine for dinner. I still have some left over stir-fry from earlier this afternoon when I had lunch with Billy Black,_" he told me.

"Okay. By the way, I'm going out with Alice and her cousin to a little show in downtown. Is that okay?"

"_Which cousin?_"

I blushed. "You've never met him. His name is Edward."

"_Hmmmm_," Charlie hummed, sounding suspicious_. _"_Just call me if something comes up, okay?_"

"Will do. Thanks, dad."

"_No problem. Talk to you later._"

"Alright, bye."

I headed upstairs to my bedroom. I shuffled through my closet, trying to find something to wear. For the first time in a long while, ever since..._him_, I was stressed over deciding on an outfit. This wasn't like me at all. I never willingly dressed up for a guy, put his opinion first, before my own. Usually, I'd go for comfort, not really caring what people thought I looked like. But tonight was different. I found myself thinking about Edward and what he would like to see me in. Would he like to see me in a skirt and heels? Tight jeans? Alice usually took care of this sort of thing for me. When I finally settled on my favorite red halter top and dark blue jeggings about twenty minutes later, I checked myself out in the mirror. This was definitely the outfit I'd be wearing tonight. I had to admit, I was pleased with what I saw.

An hour and a half later, Alice was at my front door, ready to go. It was now seven fifty-five and Jasper's performance was going to start at eight-thirty, so she was a little antsy, bouncing up and down.

"_Wow,_ _Alice..._" I said, examining her body from head to toe, "You look hot!"

She looked down at her black and blue dress that ended at mid-thigh and spiked stilettos. "Ah, it's nothing," Alice said, waving her hand. "_You_, on the other hand, are a different story. I _love_ your outfit!" She scanned my body up and down with a mischievous look on her face. "Edward's gonna melt!"

"No, he's not," I said, blushing.

"Oh yes he is, especially when he sees that ass of yours," Alice smirked. "You sly girl. I taught you well. For the first time, you did great without me!"

"It's not like that with us." I rolled my eyes.

She shook her head and walked over to her car, me tagging along behind her.

"Hi," I smiled shyly at Edward, pausing beside the passenger door.

"Hey," he smiled back, his eyes boring in to mine.

"Ummm, Bella, are you going to get in the car?" Alice asked, irritated.

I looked over at her, confused. "Ugh, what? Of course I am."

"Well then get in the car already! You've been standing there for almost five seconds in Lala Land."

"Oh my gosh, sorry," I said, blushing. I got into the car quickly and shut the door, nodding to myself. "Alright, I'm ready to go," I said.

"You might want to put on your seat belt." Alice looked at me expectantly.

"_Of course_."

"Okay, let's get this show on the road!" Alice stepped on the accelerator and we were finally on our way to Jasper's show.

**~.~.~.~.~**

"_Finally_, we're here! _That_ took long enough." Alice exclaimed when she stepped out of her yellow Porsche.

"_That took long enough?_" I exclaimed. "Are you kidding me? You were going at least ninety miles per hour on the freeway! And it only took us less than ten minutes to get here!"

She waved me off. "Well, it seemed longer to me. Now let's go!"

Alice sprinted off down the street, and I shook my head from side to side, unable to suppress my smile.

"Goodness, I wish I could run in those heels as effortlessly as her. I don't know how she does it," I said to Edward, sighing. "And I don't know where that ball of energy comes from."

"That's Alice," Edward smirked. "She's always been like that."

"Oh boy, do I know," I chuckled. Slowly, tentatively, I reached out for his hand. I knew that there was really no reason for me to be shy about it after what we've been through today, but I still couldn't get myself to grasp the fact that we've already become this comfortable with each other.

As if sensing my unease, Edward took care of the rest. He grabbed my hand and held on to it firmly before smiling down at me. Our hands were linked together and I couldn't help but look away and blush. The electricity was still there, just like earlier in his kitchen and throughout the day when we went around downtown. I always thought this feeling didn't exist, that it was just a cliche and something cheesy you always read about in novels, but I was wrong. It really _was _real. Experiencing this firsthand was beyond anything I've ever felt. Much more intense than I ever would have thought.

"I didn't get to tell you this earlier, but you look gorgeous tonight," Edward said, still looking at me.

I felt my blush deepen, my heart pounding. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Edward exhaled softly and stared straight ahead, his face unreadable.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, concerned.

"No, just thinking."

"About what? Do you want to talk about it?" Paranoia struck me. Did it have to do with me? Us?

We approached the main entrance of the Crocodile Cafe and Edward opened the door, waving me in. "Maybe another time. I don't think tonight would be a good time," Edward said.

"Okay," I said, feeling nervous. I didn't like the sound of that.

"I must say though, after today, I feel _much _more comfortable around you. _Finally_." Edward chuckled. "It's nice."

"It is," I agreed, trying to brush off what he said just moments ago. "I feel the same way."

"Edward! Bella!" Edward's and my heads searched the crowded lounge, looking for Alice's spiky hair.

Edward spotted her first, and we made our way through the floor towards the table she was at with Rosalie and Emmett. It was located just in front of the stage, off to the side.

"Perfect spot to sit at, yes?" Alice asked, beaming.

"Yes, it is," I agreed. After taking a seat, I was finally able to take a good look at the room. There was no doubt this place was filled to maximum capacity. There was an argument going on a few tables back over whose spot it was. It was a good thing Emmett and Rosalie saved a table for us. Plus, if Alice wasn't able to get a front row, clear view of Jasper like we'd be having tonight, she would not be a happy camper.

"Edward?" Emmett yelled in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here, man?"

"Hey!" Edward laughed. "I'm here with Alice and Bella. Alice is my cousin."

"No shit! I didn't know that!" Emmett's dark brown eyes widened.

"Heyyy, why didn't you say you knew Emmett, Edward?" Alice accused, annoyed. "We told you we were going to be here with him!"

"Chill out, Alice. I didn't know you were talking about _this _Emmett. We used to run into each other at the gym." Edward smirked, nodding his head in Emmett's direction.

"But I told you his last name!"

"Well, _I didn't know _his last name. Sorry," he said sarcastically.

"Yeah, I didn't know his either," Emmett told Alice, laughing. "I miss seeing you at the track, dude. We need to exchange info."

"For sure."

Edward took a clean napkin from the center of the table and asked if anyone had a pen. At that moment, it struck me that _I _didn't have any way to get ahold of Edward, except through Alice, now that Varner's class had ended. Just for the hell of it, I pinched his elbow from under the table. I couldn't help but chuckle while doing it; he made it too easy to be myself and let go a little.

"_Owww_," Edward hissed.

"_I _don't have your number or anything either," I said.

Alice trilled a laugh, causing the rest of us join in, Edward included.

"Bella, I didn't know you could be so _feisty_," Alice said.

"Yeah, neither did I. He brought it out of me." I pinched Edward again.

Alice let out a gasp and gave me a sly smile.

"What is it?" I asked, confused as to why she was looking at me like that.

"Alice is just being _Alice_," Edward answered, his face turning into a shade of scarlet.

"Then why are you-"

Then it got to me. _Feisty. _Count on Alice to take something out of context. I covered my face with my free hand. I didn't even want to look over at Edward, I was so embarrassed.

"Oh my gosh, I _so _did not mean it that way," I said, feeling my body flush from head to toe.

"Then what _did _you mean, B?" Emmett smirked at me mischievously while wiggling his eyebrows.

"Emmett, leave Bella alone," Rosalie scolded. She turned her head to Edward. "I'm Rose, Jasper's sister. He and your cousin are seeing each other."

Rosalie smirked, knowing she busted on Alice as she offered her right hand to shake Edward's. He awkwardly took it with his left, since his right was still holding mine. They both laughed lightly.

"Oh, _really..._she never told me that." He looked at Alice with a slight glare. "But anyhow, it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Rose smiled, flashing her perfectly straight, white teeth.

"Geez _Edward _and Bella, are you two _that _attached to each other? Aren't your guys' palms sweaty or something?" Alice asked, changing the topic so the focus wouldn't be on her.

"Shut up." Edward rolled his eyes.

"I'm just saying."

Just then, Jasper's band, Eclipse, took the stage, ceasing all conversation between us. All the songs they sang were originals, and they sounded great. They reminded me of the band, Maroon 5.

During one of their ballads, I looked over at Alice. She was clearly in a daze, hypnotized by Jasper. I took that opportunity to throw her off guard, as I whispered into her ear while she was taking a sip off of her cosmopolitan during the second verse. "Does Jasper's voice sound like that in bed?"

Alice coughed and nearly choked on her drink as I laughed, unable to control myself. The look on her face was priceless.

"What did you say to her?" Edward asked.

"I asked her if Jasper's voice in this song resembles how he sounds in bed," I said, barely able to get the words out.

"Oh dear God...I don't need to hear this shit," Rose said, scrunching her porcelain face in disgust while Emmett laughed along with me. Edward looked like he wanted to gag. I squeezed our linked fingers tighter together in attempt to distract him. He looked down at me and rolled his eyes teasingly, taking a sip off of the rum and coke he ordered.

"You are something else, you know that?"

"I am, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are," he smirked as he pinched the space between my thumb and index finger.

Trying to hide the effect he was having on me, I smiled and tried to contain myself as best as I could while I turning my attention back towards the band. I took a sip off of the AMF Edward bought for me. I never really liked the taste of the drink, but it was bearable and always gave me a good buzz. It's usually what I ordered whenever I went out. As I continued to drink, I couldn't help but think of Eleazar. I was definitely going to have to talk to about all that's been going on these past couple days.

A few moments later, Edward pulled me out of my thoughts as he whispered seductively into my ear. "We still haven't exchanged numbers." The hairs on my neck stood up, sending chills down my spine. I could smell the subtle scent of his cologne, the proximity between us becoming closer with each passing second. _ What was he doing to me?_

"Oh...yeah," I said, my throat parched dry.

Edward took his iPhone out and looked at me expectantly. "Number?"

I turned my head so I could say it into his ear. Smiling after he saved my phone number into his address book, he texted me so I could have his. I couldn't help but squeal inside, feeling like a teenager. Now I could bug him whenever I wanted to, and I planned on doing it.

Jasper's show ended at around nine-thirty. He walked over to our table and told us he was going to return after cleaning himself up a bit. Edward looked him up-and-down as he walked away, his eyes narrowing.

"You know, looking at his back side isn't going to determine whether or not he's worthy of your cousin," I teased Edward, nudging my shoulder against his.

"Ugh, I know," he groaned.

"Don't worry bro, Jasper's a good guy," Emmett said.

"Yeah, he's alright..._most of the time_," Rose added.

"'_Most of the time_'," Edward sneered.

Alice rolled her eyes. "What did you think of the show?" She looked over at me.

"It was great. Jasper's got an _awesome voice_." I winked.

Alice's face started to look flush. "Awww, is _Alice _blushing? I didn't think it was possible!" I giggled.

"It's the alcohol, damnit!" Alice said defensively, turning even more red.

"Lalalala, okay..." Edward said, clearly knowing where the subject was headed. "What's the plan now? Are we going to stay here?"

"We usually go somewhere to eat after Jasper's shows. Performing always makes him hungry," Rose answered.

"Alright."

"_Please_ don't be an ass to Jasper, Edward," Alice pleaded. "I'm not giving you a hard time, so don't give _me _one."

A pause. "Fine, I _won't_," Edward huffed.

"Hey everyone, glad you could make it!" Jasper greeted us when he came back. He looked over at Edward and smiled, reaching out his hand to shake his. "I don't believe we've met," he said. "I'm Jasper."

For the first time since we've entered the Cafe, Edward released my hand to shake his. He nodded his head. "Edward. I'm Alice's _cousin_," he said, almost as if it were a threat. Alice rolled her eyes while I suppressed a chuckle.

"Yeah, Alice talked about you a few times," Jasper said, still sounding cordial. "It's nice to finally meet you. She said you're from Forks?"

"That's right."

"I went there before. It's a beautiful place."

Edward looked at him skeptically. "What made you go there?"

"Enough of the chitter-chatter," Alice cut in before Jasper could answer, ending their conversation. "Where are we going now?"

Jasper looked at Edward apologetically and Edward shrugged his shoulders, clearly used to Alice's behavior.

"Mama's Kitchen? It's just down the street," Emmett suggested, licking his lips.

"Ugh, _no_, Emmett. I do not feel like eating Mexican food with a bunch of cheese this late." Rosalie said.

"But their tacos and enchiladas are delicious, babe!"

"No," Rose said with finality while she glanced at her cell phone, checking the time. Emmett whined and pouted his lower lip, looking like an upset ten-year old. Who knew that such a strong, tall, muscular guy like Emmett could be could be so whipped? Jasper laughed at this and patted his shoulder.

"What do _you _feel like having Jasper?" Alice asked.

"Actually, breakfast food sounds kind of good right now..."

I smiled, recalling this morning at Edward's apartment. When I looked over at him, he had a soft smile on his lips and a distant look in his eyes, looking lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked him.

"This morning in the kitchen. Pancakes," He said, his crooked smile growing.

"Me too," I smiled back.

"What about pancakes?" Alice chided in, looking suspicious.

"Nothing, _Alice_," Edward spat. "Shouldn't we be talking about where to go?"

Alice _hmph'ed _and looked away, crossing her arms. Edward smirked and rolled his eyes. "What about IHOP? There's one just off of Broadway."

"Hmmm, that sounds good," Jasper said. "Is everyone cool with that?"

"That's fine with me," Rose shrugged.

"Yeah, I don't mind," Alice agreed. _Of course she wouldn't_.

"Me too! I could have some waffles." A smile started to form on Emmett's face.

"What about you, Bella?" Edward asked, looking at me.

"Yeah, IHOP's cool," I smiled. I didn't care where we went, as long as Edward was around.

"All the guys in the M3 and all the ladies in the Porsche!" Emmett said when we were all outside.

"You guys better not make a mess in _my _car," Rosalie said. Rose's and Jasper's parents gave the car to them as a gift last Christmas. That's a little over the top for a Christmas present if you ask me, but their family was wealthy so I was pretty sure it wasn't such a huge deal for them.

"It's mine too, you know. Don't you trust me?" Jasper asked teasingly.

"_Maybe_," Rosalie said in the same tone, going along with him. "You should drive. Emmett would probably go a little wild since I won't be there."

"You're no fun," Emmett complained. He lifted his hand and started running his fingers through her long, wavy blonde locks. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you," Rose said, taking a hold of his hand and pulling it away. "Now stop trying to do that to win me over. It's not going to work."

Emmett let out a loud sigh before heading towards the direction the M3 was parked at.

I reluctantly let go of Edward's hand and looked up at him, already missing the contact between us. "I'll see you in a bit," I smiled, trying my best not to show my irrational disappointment.

"Yeah, see you in a few, _Bella_," he said softly, giving me my favorite smile.

"And be easy on Jasper," I winked. I turned around to walk away before he could see my body's reaction to the way he said my name. I looked down at the sidewalk to distract myself, while at the same time focusing on the clicking of Alice's and Rosalie's heels that were becoming louder as they started to catch up with me. When we reached the Porsche, I took the back seat and leaned my head against the head rest, making myself comfortable as much as possible, even though I was anything but. I already knew what we would be talking about.

"You and Edward are really cute," Rose gushed after she sat down on her seat. "You never told me about him!"

"Ohh...well, we're not together," I replied, trying to cover my nerves.

"_Really?_ You guys looked like it."

"No, we're just friends."

"For now," Alice smirked.

"_Ha, ha_," I said sarcastically. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure," Alice replied. "But I've got some questions first."

"I thought you said you were going to butt out when we were at Edward's apartment. This doesn't seem like it," I sneered, irritated.

"I did, but then I realized that we should have this conversation before I really do." She looked at me from the rear view mirror, and I could tell she was being serious. As much as I hated to admit it, I could see where she was coming from. Edward was her cousin after all, and I know that if the roles were reversed between us, I'd want to do the same thing. Still, this was going to be quite uncomfortable.

"Soooo..." Alice started, "Do you like my cousin?"

"Okay...this is already weird," I said, taking a deep breath.

"Bella...calm down. It's a simple question."

"I know... but we're talking about your _cousin!_"

"Just try to picture it like he's any other guy."

"But he's not just _any other guy_." I slumped down in my seat.

"Well, that's a good start." Alice nodded to herself, making a turn onto Fifth Avenue. Still concentrating on the road, she asked, "Do you think he's cute?"

"Anyone can see that," Rosalie said, stating it as if it were a fact.

Grateful that Rose answered for me, I went along with her answer. It was much easier to admit it that way than saying it out loud myself.

"Do you plan on telling him about everything any time soon?"

Even though I knew she couldn't see me, I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I'm just going to play things by ear. You know I wasn't expecting this. This is so much to take in after just one day, you know?"

"One day?" Rose asked, surprised. She looked over at Alice with wide eyes in disbelief before turning her head around to face me. "You guys seemed so comfortable with each other though!"

"I know, right?" Alice agreed. "I'll _really _leave you alone about the whole thing now, Bella. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't pushing yourself and wanted to get an understanding of where your mindset was with Edward. I'm glad you're not taking this whole thing with him lightly."

"Yeah...I'm not."

"Good." A smile played on her lips. "But you know, if you want to talk about anything between you guys, don't hesitate to come to me, alright? Just because Edward's my cousin doesn't mean that you can't come to me for advice and vent."

"I'll remember that." Glad that everything was covered, I looked out the window and smiled, feeling much more at ease. What a relief to have that conversation over with! It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. It was different though, having Alice not be as "intrusive" as she normally would be. This evening was turning out better than I anticipated.

As Alice parked her car in the parking lot, I spotted the guys inside the building. My eyes immediately fell upon Edward, his eyes staring at the Porsche. He was wearing my favorite lopsided grin. When I stepped out of the car after Rose, I waved at him, smiling. His smile grew, and as usual, I felt myself soften inside. I didn't understand how someone like me could make Edward have that kind of reaction, but I was thankful for it. It made me feel appreciated and cared for, something I haven't felt from anyone other than Alice and my father, but in a completely different way.

"Hey," I said once I finally stood in front of him.

"Hey." Edward smiled again as he took my hand and led me towards one of the benches in the waiting area. After we sat down, Edward's expression changed. He squinted his eyes with suspicion, looking at Jasper and Alice while they were hugging. I bumped my shoulder against his.

"Hey now, it's just a hug."

"Well, it's a _long _hug...if it could even be considered one." Edward nodded his head towards them. Jasper and Alice were practically molded into each other, the length of their entire bodies matching like puzzle pieces. Jasper's slender, well-defined arms circled Alice's tiny waist firmly while her head rested against his shoulder, her slim arms and hands circling his waist as well while her eyes were closed in contentment. I had to admit, they looked good together. Jasper's height was just perfect for Alice petite frame, and his dirty blonde, wavy hair complimented her straight, jet black, and vice-versa. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, smirking. Edward looked at me and sighed, resigned. He knew there was nothing he could do about it. Alice never let anyone or anything interfere with what she wanted to do, and she'd be damned if anyone dare tried. But seeing Edward act like this, it was clear to me that he really cared about his cousin. It reminded me, in a way, of Charlie.

"Did you interrogate him during the ride?"

"Yeah."

I chuckled. "Hmmm...well, clearly not enough. You're still eyeing him."

Edward sighed. "I know. It's just that this is the first time I've seen her with a guy like this."

"She'll be fine. She knows what she's doing."

This was only the second time or so that I've spent time with Jasper and Alice together as a 'couple', but I could already tell that he was just as crazy for Alice as she was with him. There was no way the smile that was constantly plastered on his face could be fake. The last time we were all together, Jasper could barely take his eyes off her. He opened doors, always said his _please_'s and _thank you_'s, and seemed genuinely interested in everything Alice said. He was nothing but a gentleman, and it seemed to come to him naturally. He was definitely a keeper.

When we were seated at our table, Edward, sitting beside me, I looked over at Alice, who was directly across from me. Unsurprisingly, she was caught up with Jasper, talking about something that involved horseback riding and the beach. I assumed they were talking about a future date. Not wanting this to increase Edward's suspicions towards Jasper, I joined their conversation and changed the subject that would be less irritable for Edward- music. Surely this would make him a _little _more open towards Jasper. Especially since music was something Edward enjoyed. Fortunately, I was right. He and Jasper ended up discussing their favorite bands and self-written compositions. By the time it was time to leave, Edward actually _smiled _at him.

"See, he wasn't so bad," I said to Edward while he, Alice and I made out way towards the Porsche in the dimly lit parking lot.

"You're right. He seems like a nice guy."

"So, you like him?" Alice asked, her tone nervous.

"He's alright," Edward said, trying to sound detached as if he was still trying to decide. It wasn't working. Alice could already tell he approved, as did I.

Alice smiled an ear-to-ear grin, giddy during the drive back to Edward's department. She was singing along with the radio, dancing in her seat. I smiled to myself, happy for my best friend. She finally found her equal, someone that truly deserved her. Tonight further proved that to me- that Jasper really was good for her.

"I had fun tonight," Edward smiled as he turned around in his seat, facing Alice and me when we reached his complex.

"I knew you would," Alice said, still chipper.

"I did too." I smiled.

Edward's opened the passenger side door, about to step out. "I'll see you guys soon...?" he said, looking directly at me.

"Sure," I replied, unable to say anything else. His stare left me at a loss for words. Alice didn't bother to respond. She remained silent, staring outside her side window. _What was she thinking?_

Edward didn't seem to notice this as my favorite smile grew before he said good night. As he walked towards the entrance to his apartment complex, I felt a tugging at my chest, sad that the night was ending. After watching him walk in to the building, I turned my head to face forward, expecting Alice to drive already, but she wasn't. Instead she was turned facing me, her blue eyes looking into mine with an excited expression, smiling. I was waiting for her to say something, anything...but all she did was continue to look at me.

"Ummm...are we ready to go?" I asked, shifting around uncomfortably.

"Yep," she replied, finally turning around in her seat. _Okay...that was weird..._

Charlie's cruiser was parked in its usual spot on the driveway when Alice dropped me off. Once I stepped in through the front door, my exhaustion finally hit me. I yawned, stretching out my arms, and then out of nowhere, I heard my father's voice.

"Hey."

Startled, I jumped in shock, gasping loudly. I inhaled so much air, my eyes teared up and my throat felt as dry as cotton. I rushed over to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water from the tap. When my throat felt somewhat decent after a few gulps, I finally responded. "Hi, dad."

Amused, Charlie laughed. "Sorry about that, kid. Didn't mean to startle you." He patted my back. "How was your night?"

"It was good. Yours?"

"Boring," he chuckled. He took the last few sips off of his can of Rainier beer before placing it on the kitchen counter, beside the sink. He was already dressed down in his pajamas, ready for bed. "Well, I'm going to sleep now. Good night, Bella."

"Night."

He gave me a lazy grin before walking up the stairs. Before I went upstairs myself, I poured myself a new glass of water. A few minutes later, as I was about ready to put on my over-worn, holey pajamas, I picked up my phone, contemplating on whether or not I should text Edward. I didn't have to think about it for long, though. It was almost as if he could read my mind.

_Did you make it home okay? _

_Yes, I did. Alive and in one piece. :P -B_

_Ha, very funny! BTW, your flowers are still at my place. When can I give them to you?_

Smiling so hard my face practically hurt, I typed back my response. I was glad to have a reason to see Edward again soon. _So much for going to sleep now._

_Oh my gosh, how could I forget! Hmmm...would tomorrow work? -B_

_Yeah. I'll call you later, then. Good night and sweet dreams. :)_

_Good night. :) -B_

I placed my cell phone on the small table beside my bed. What a great way to end the week! Who knew that Edward Cullen, the guy that grated on my nerves for the past several weeks, would have the effect he had on me now? I had no idea where things would go with us, but there were a few things I was sure of. One- Edward was a gentleman. It may have taken me awhile to realize this fact, but it's as clear as day to me now. Two- I had Alice's approval to be with him. And three- I wanted to be more than "just friends" him, despite the fact that I thought I shouldn't.

* * *

What do you think Bella will do next?

Until next time,  
Mel


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